Alzheimer Society wants you to reduce your risk of dementia

The society says there are actions Canadians can take to improve their brain health

CITYnews halifax \ Meghan Groff

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The Alzheimer Society of Nova Scotia is marking Alzheimer’s Awareness Month by promoting actions Canadians can take to improve their brain health.

The society’s director of programs and services, Sacha Nadeau, said there are some dementia risk factors we can’t do anything about — for instance, age is the biggest risk, women are more likely to get Alzheimer’s disease than men, and genetics may play a role — but there are some things we can do to reduce our odds.

“Being physically active every day, protecting your heart health, even staying socially active or challenging your brain in new ways,” she told CityNews Halifax.

That could include taking up new hobbies, learning new skills or playing games like word and number puzzles, jigsaws, crosswords and sudoku.

“And there’s a few people might not think about like getting a good night’s sleep, managing depression or getting checked for hearing aids if you need it.”

Managing stress, avoiding head injuries, quitting smoking and limiting alcohol consumption can also help.

“There’s 40 per cent of our risks that we can actually reduce,” Nadeau explained.

“Historically we thought a lot of this was set in stone, that it was age or genetics, and while those are certainly risk factors, there’s a lot we can modify.”

Last fall, the Alzheimer Society of Canada released a landmark study warning of a rapid rise in the number of Canadians being diagnosed with dementia in the coming decades.

As of 2020, there were an estimated 597,000 Canadians living with dementia. According to the report, that number is expected to reach almost one million by 2030, and surpass 1.7 million by 2050, with an average of 685 individuals being diagnosed each day.

A significant increase in dementia cases will not only have a devastating impact on our health care system, but also on the loved ones of those diagnosed, as they often end up being care givers.

However, the study points out, if Canadians reduce their risk to delay the onset of dementia — or even avoid it all together — it could change the trajectory of that curve.

“Delaying the onset of dementia by one year would avoid nearly 500,000 cases of dementia over the next 30 years in Canada,” the report stated. “Delaying the onset by 10 years would effectively avoid more than 4 million cases.”

In addition to memory loss, warning signs of dementia include difficulties with attention, problem solving and language, and changes in personality, mood and behaviour.

Dementia can even cause problems with vision, balance and movement.

The Alzheimer Society of Nova Scotia will be hosting an event on January 31 at the Halifax Central Library.

The panel discussion will discuss risk factors and go over how to live well with dementia.

It will be livestreamed for those who can’t make it in person.