A dementia calculator developed by Canadian researchers is said to predict and reduce risks from the illness of users aged 55 and above.
Dementia most likely develops as a person ages. The fear of having the said illness is significant as a cure for it is still unavailable. Nevertheless, doctors recommend lifestyle changes to reduce the risks of getting it.
Additionally, proper lifestyle could also help lessen the effects of dementia once it has started to manifest. For instance, an 82-Year-Old woman said that her memory came back after she followed a certain diet.
Dr. Doug Brown, a member of the Alzheimer's Society confirmed via BBC that a healthy, balanced diet helps in fighting against the risk of losing memory, as well as heart disease, stroke, and cancer.
According to ScienceDaily, dementia pertains to memory loss and the deterioration of thinking in general. It added that about 76,000 people are diagnosed with it, at least in Canada.
Dementia Calculator Predicts Risks
The dementia calculator also helps in following a proper lifestyle, which includes a balanced diet, by determining the risks early on.
The Ottawa Hospital, Bruyere Research Institute, and Univesity of Ottawa researchers teamed up to produce a calculator that could predict and reduce the risks of dementia. The research, involving about 75,000 people, helped in determining the risks in five years.
It aided in predicting risks as the tool was based on real-life data that the Statistics Canada Canadian Community Health Surveys collected.
Dementia Calculator: Stress Levels, Education, Alcohol Consumption
According to Yahoo, the dementia prediction tool examines factors about a person, like ethnicity, age, and immigration status, as well as physical activity, diet, marital status, and alcohol consumption.
On top of that, education and environmental factors are also included in the analysis.
All of these personal data combined could assess how likely a person could get dementia in the next five years.
Dr. Peter Tanuseputro, the author of the study, cleared out that they have included ethnicity as the COVID-19 pandemic has shown that "variables like ethnicity and neighborhood play a major role in our health."
Read Also: Giving Sleeping Pills To Dementia Patients With Insomnia May Raise Fracture Risk By 40 Percent
Dementia Calculator Helps Reduce Risk by Lifestyle Modification
The predictive dementia calculator is best used to switch into a proper lifestyle even before the illness starts affecting a person.
As mentioned earlier, as simple as a lifestyle change could manage the said condition. Both regular physical activity and a healthy diet would help reduce the risk of dementia.
Furthermore, the calculator is accessible online at projectbiglife.ca. It is among the other tools that Project Big Life has on its website, which included the life-expectancy predicting tool on the platform.
For now, the dementia calculator is specifically designed for Canadian users, but the researchers said it can be customized for other countries as well. A similar locally collected health survey will finalize its adaption to other populations.
Elsewhere, a recent study showed that lack of sleep during late ages increases the risk of dementia by 30%.
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Teejay Boris
