
But for me and my generation every mental slip raises the spectre of Alzheimer’s such is the dread with which this disease is held.
More so, I reckon, than cancer or heart attack. The prospect of your near and dear-ones respectfully visiting your hospital bed is one thing; quite another when they search the streets as you wander abroad in your pyjamas.
It seems, however, my concern has started a couple of decades too late.
A new study published in the British Medical Journal this week found declines in mental function in 45-year-olds. It challenged the prevailing wisdom the onset of deterioration attached to those in their 60s – and as a consequence has been making headlines around the world.
University College London researchers couldn’t say how many of the 45-to-49s in their study - who had tested for an average 3.6 per cent decline in mental reasoning over the previous 10 years - would go on to get Alzheimer’s.
But as dementia claims more sufferers in an aging population, the study sounds a warning for the middle-aged.
Much more work has to be done to detect those at the greatest risk as early as possible. But it makes better sense than ever to strive to maintain a healthy body as a life-long regime to improve your chances of retaining a healthy mind into old age.
"Although we don't yet have a sure-fire way to prevent dementia, we do know that simple lifestyle changes - such as eating a healthy diet, not smoking, and keeping blood pressure and cholesterol in check - can all reduce the risk of dementia,” says Alzheimer's Research's Dr Simon Ridley.
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