What increases my risk for Alzheimer's disease?

There are many risk factors. At a recent meeting of scientists who study this disease some obvious and surprising findings were presented.  The greatest risk factors are age and genes.  Although accurate, these answers are frustrating because aging is something we all want to do and we have no control over which genes we inherited. Tall people get Alzheimer less often than short people.  People with large circumference heads get it less often than people with smaller heads.  Clearly, there's very little that can be done about those peculiar risk factors.  Learning two languages seems to reduce the risk of Alzheimer; surprisingly, learning three languages increased the risk.  These correlations are not that helpful.  Most people want some simple guidelines.  My favorite findings that correlated best with reduced risk of Alzheimer were eating fewer calories every day, exercising a little every day and avoiding anything from a cow. 

Age is the greatest known risk factor contributing to Alzheimer's Disease. The likelihood of developing Alzheimer's after the age of 65 doubles every 5 years. Another dominant risk factor is family history of the disease. The risk of you getting Alzheimer's increases if more than one family member has the disease. Genetics are also involved in getting Alzheimer's disease. APOE-e4 is considered to be the risk gene with the strongest influence related to getting Alzheimer's.

Age: The risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD) increases with each decade of adult life. AD usually affects people older than 65 but rarely, it may affect those younger than 40. Less than five percent of people between 65-74 years old have AD. For people 85 and older, that number jumps to nearly 50%.

Heredity: The risk of developing AD appears to be slightly higher if a first-degree relative (a parent, sister, or brother) has the disease. Although the genetic link of AD among families remains largely unexplained, researchers have identified a few genetic mutations that greatly increase risk in some families. A clear inherited pattern of AD exists in less than 10% of cases. In addition, one form of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene increases the chances of developing late-onset AD. Nearly all individuals with Down's syndrome who live into their 40s develop the disease. Down syndrome (DS) is a condition in which extra genetic material causes delays in the way a child develops and often leads to mental retardation. It affects one in every 800 babies born. Three genetic mutations in DNA are known to cause early-onset Alzheimer's.

Lifestyle: The same factors that put an individual at risk of heart disease, including hypertension (high blood pressure) and hypercholesterolemia (high cholesterol), may also increase the likelihood that the person will develop AD. Poorly controlled diabetes is another risk factor. Exercise and diet are very important to prevent and control AD. Some clinical studies have suggested that remaining mentally active throughout life, especially in the later years, reduces the risk of AD. Mental activity can be doing crossword puzzles daily, reading the newspaper or books, and increasing social activities.

Head injury: The observation that some ex-boxers eventually develop dementia suggests that serious traumatic injury to the head (for example, a concussion with a prolonged loss of consciousness) may be a risk factor for AD. Findings are mixed and more research is needed.

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Certain things make getting a disease more likely. These are called risk factors. Risk factors for Alzheimer's disease include:

• Getting older. This is the main risk factor. People rarely have dementia before age 60. 

• A family history of Alzheimer's disease, especially if one or more of your parents or siblings has the disease.

• The presence of the apolipoprotein E-4 gene.

• Having Down syndrome.

• Injuries to the brain, especially more than one injury that caused you to pass out (such as a concussion from a fall, car accident or playing a sport.)