Do You Have One or More Risk factor of Alzheimer’s disease?
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Alzheimer’s disease is rarely understood and nobody knows what causes it. Like several other diseases that we are more likely to get as we age, there are some risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease. Unfortunately, however, there is not a modifiable risk factor of Alzheimer’s disease.
Age
The number one risk factor of Alzheimer’s disease is age. Some people do get Alzheimer’s disease in their 30’s or 40’s, but the real risk begins to increase after age 65. Once you reach 85, you have about a 50-50 chance of having Alzheimer’s disease.
Gender
Being female is a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. For a while, people thought that there were more women with Alzheimer’s disease than men because women live longer, so there are just more old women than old men. Careful analysis has shown, however, women just have more of a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease than men do.
Family History
Another risk factor of Alzheimer’s disease is family history. If you have parents, brothers or sisters with Alzheimer’s disease, your risk of getting it, too, is increased. If one of your close relatives was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease at an early age, your risk is even higher because it may be familial Alzheimer’s disease. Familial Alzheimer’s disease is rare, but is directly inherited.
Genetics
This risk factor of Alzheimer’s disease is related to family history, and research is still being done to see if there are specific genetic factors that cause Alzheimer’s disease. One particular form of a gene for a particular protein, ApoE4, is more prevalent in people with Alzheimer’s disease.
Other Risk Factors
More than one possible risk factor of Alzheimer’s disease is being studied, but there haven’t been any definite links made yet. Some of the other potential risk factors are:
* Having had a head injury
* Low educational level
* Heart disease and the risk factors for it
* Aluminum exposure
If it were found, a modifiable risk factor of Alzheimer’s disease would be one that you could do something about. For example, high cholesterol is a modifiable risk factor for heart disease. If you have high cholesterol, and you change your diet and exercise and get your cholesterol levels down to normal, it decreases your risk of getting heart disease. If we found a similar risk factor of Alzheimer’s disease, we could do something to prevent it.
