Vitamin D deficiency, depression and diabetes can all increase the risk of young-onset dementia, research has found.
The study, published in the journal Jama Neurology, has identified 15 potential risk factors that can increase the chances of symptoms of dementia developing before the age of 65.
It is estimated around 70,000 people in the UK are living with young-onset dementia. The study, conducted by scientists from the UK and the Netherlands, looked at data from over 350,000 under-65s from across the UK.
The risk factors identified included lower formal education and lower socioeconomic status, social isolation, postural or orthostatic hypotension, stroke, diabetes, heart disease, and depression, among others.
The fact many of these risk factors are modifiable, especially by lifestyle and diet changes, means they should be incorporated into future dementia prevention initiatives, the study recommended.
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Dr Janice Ranson, one of the report authors and a senior research fellow at the University of Exeter Medical School, told the BBC that the study could “herald a new era” for interventions to reduce new cases.
Dr Stevie Hendriks, a researcher at Maastricht University in the Netherlands, said: “Young-onset dementia has a very serious impact, because the people affected usually still have a job, children and a busy life.
“The cause is often assumed to be genetic, but for many people we don’t actually know exactly what the cause is. This is why we also wanted to investigate other risk factors in this study,” she added.
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The estimate of 70,000 working-age adults in the UK struggling with young-onset dementia, published in 2022 by the charity Dementia UK, was significantly higher than previously thought. The statistics suggested there is a ‘hidden population’ of 70,800 people in the UK living with the condition.
