Alzheimer’s dementia (AD) is a devastating disease.
Longevity doctor, Peter Attia’s recent podcast sheds some light on the evidence base on prevention. Here are my 11 key insights:
APOE4 allele increases risk of AD This risk CAN be reduced with lifestyle and medical interventions so it’s worth knowing your genotype early in life.
Exercise has the most potent and evidence based benefit for reduction of risk. 4 pillars of exercise — cardio zone 2 and zone 5, strength/resistance, stability and coordination (Ie dance, sport)
Nutrition Mediterranean, DASH and MIND diets have most evidence of benefit.
Sleep — get enough high quality sleep
Supplements — whilst theoretically supplementing activated B vitamins, Omega 3 fatty acids/EPA/DHA and vitamin D would help, the association has not found to be causal. He still takes them.
Alcohol — limit you usage, aim for abstinence but Med diet recommends a small glass of red wine a day (7 units or less per week)
Smoking — just stop it, now, get help.
Brain games — no evidence of benefit to risk, only benefit is getting better at that particular brain game skill. Spend your time exercising using complex movements requiring increased cognition instead.
Amyloid and tau plaques on post mortem doesn’t correlate to disease severity prior to death. This is probably due to higher cognitive and physical “reserve”. A reason to keep your mind and body active throughout life by doing challenging things.
Lipids — track and keep ApoB cholesterol low with nutrition, behaviour or pharmaceuticals guided by clinician. Statins don’t increase the risk of dementia.
Hearing loss is a huge risk factor that can be readily treated with hearing aids. Don’t ignore.
A few of these finding surprised me.
What surprised you the most?
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