New study highlights everyday risk factors for dementia

A shortlist of environmental factors that may contribute to the risk of developing dementia is being compiled by a University of Edinburgh-led team.

Researchers from the university's Alzheimer Scotland Dementia Research Centre have reviewed dozens of previous studies that have considered environmental risk factors linked to dementia, identifying a number of potential issues.

A lack of vitamin D and exposure to air pollution were both implicated, along with occupational exposure to some types of pesticide. Excessive levels of minerals found in drinking water may also play a part, though the evidence for this was mixed.

Dr Tom Russ of the Alzheimer Scotland Dementia Research Centre at the University of Edinburgh said: "Our ultimate goal is to prevent or delay the onset of dementia. Environmental risk factors are an important new area to consider here, particularly since we might be able to do something about them."

Dementia is already known to be associated with lifestyle factors such as high blood pressure in midlife, smoking, diabetes, obesity, depression and low educational attainment, as well as genetic factors. However, these leave around one-third of the total risk for dementia unexplained.

Future research will further examine the impact of these environmental factors to draw more solid conclusions.

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