May 14, 2019
The World Health Organization on Tuesday published new guidelines for reducing the risk of dementia.
The guidelines serve to provide physicians with evidence-based interventions for patients who want to keep cognitive decline and dementia at bay. The information also will serve as guidelines for governments, policy makers and and other authorities in the public interest.
The guidelines are needed more than ever as it is estimated that dementia cases will triple over the next 30 years. It reportedly affects 50 million people worldwide.
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The WHO guidelines recommend getting regular exercise, not smoking, avoiding harmful use of alcohol, controlling their weight, eating a healthy diet, and maintaining healthy blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels.
“We need to do everything we can to reduce our risk of dementia. The scientific evidence gathered for these guidelines confirm what we have suspected for some time, that what is good for our heart, is also good for our brain,” said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in the announcement of the guidelines.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, dementia is not a disease. Rather, it’s a blanket term used to describe conditions involving a decline in memory and thinking skills that inhibits a person’s ability to live daily life.
Learn more about the WHO’s new dementia guidelines here.
