Head injuries do not go unnoticed. Even after many years they can cause dementia (including its most common type — Alzheimer’s disease). Even «harmless» concussion increases the risk of developing dementia in old age by 17%, and severe traumatic brain injury by 35%.
To such a disappointing conclusion was made by scientists analyzing data 27 632 020 patients over 36-year period. The study is published in the journal Lancet Psychiatry.
According to statistics of the International Association of TBIannually in the area of risk gets 150 million Americans who survive traumatic brain injury while preserving all the functions of the brain (another 50 thousand are killed, and 80 thousand in varying degrees, lose mental function immediately after injury).
What if you did not save the head? I want to meet the sunset of life with a clear mind.
Prevention of dementia is to do in younger years. Methods for preventing senile dementia depend on its type (vascular dementia, Huntington’s Disease, etc.), but there is a universal, which, incidentally, help to cope with other diseases and problems:
- Sport. Exercise not only help to reduce the risk of developing dementia, but also slow its progression.
- Maintaining a normal weight. It is proven that overweight and lack of physical preparation increases the risk of developing dementia.
- Proper nutrition. Swedish researchers found that the more vegetables and fruit consume the man in his youth, the less likely that he will suffer from dementia in the future.
- The rejection of bad habits. Before to smoke or to touch too much at the party, remember that two packs of cigarettes twice and increase the risk of dementia and alcohol abuse — the way to early dementia.
- Positive thinking. According to the study, depression in youth is three times less likely to age in a clear mind, but a state of loneliness (subjective) and deprivation in old age — in half.
- And finally, the mental work. The car for a long time standing idle in the garage is starting to rot. The same thing happens with the brain — it begins to work poorly if it is not enough to use. According to science, people engaged in mental work, the development of dementia slowed by 32%. Helps to maintain cognitive function and use of the computer.
