Alcoholism, Social Isolation and More Increase Risk of Early-Onset Dementia, Study Finds

“It’s now accepted that up to four in 10 dementia cases worldwide are linked to these factors,” said Dr. Leah Mursaleen, head of clinical research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, which co-funded the study

Alcoholism, social isolation, and a lack of vitamin D are among a dozen health issues that can increase the risk of early-onset dementia, according to a new study.

The UK Biobank study, published in JAMA Neurology with the American Medical Association, looked at over 356,000 people and analyzed 39 risk factors — genetic, demographic, lifestyle and environmental — that could possibly lead to early-onset dementia.

Researchers with the University of Exeter, Maastricht University and other institutions found that 15 factors significantly increased the risk, including low socioeconomic status, alcohol use disorder, social isolation, vitamin D deficiency, hearing impairment, stroke, diabetes and depression.

Meanwhile, factors associated with a lower risk of early-onset dementia included higher formal education, higher handgrip strength, and moderate alcohol use.

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“We already knew from research on people who develop dementia at an older age that there are a series of modifiable risk factors,” said Sebastian Köhler, a professor of neuroepidemiology and one of the study’s lead authors, the Guardian reports. “In addition to physical factors, mental health also plays an important role, including avoiding chronic stress, loneliness and depression. The fact that this is also evident in young-onset dementia came as a surprise to me, and it may offer opportunities to reduce risk in this group too.”

Dementia is the umbrella term for the “impaired ability to remember, think, or make decisions that interferes with doing everyday activities,” says the CDC, which points out that dementia is not a part of “normal aging.”

“We’re witnessing a transformation in understanding of dementia risk and, potentially, how to reduce it on an individual and societal level,” said Dr. Leah Mursaleen, head of clinical research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, which co-funded the study. “In recent years, there’s been a growing consensus that dementia is linked to 12 specific modifiable risk factors such as smoking, blood pressure and hearing loss. It’s now accepted that up to four in 10 dementia cases worldwide are linked to these factors.”

“This pioneering study shines important and much-needed light on factors that can influence the risk of young-onset dementia,” Mursaleen continued. “This starts to fill in an important gap in our knowledge. It will be important to build on these findings in broader studies.”

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