Frailty in older adults appears to raise the risk of dementia independently of genetic risk, researchers have found.
A team led by Dr David Ward of Dalhousie University in Canada examined the impact of frailty using information on over 196,000 men and women aged above 60 years from the UK Biobank database.
Hospital admission records for 1,762 participants over a ten year period were analysed for dementia diagnoses. Frailty was estimated using a score reflecting ‘the accumulation of age-related symptoms, signs, disabilities and diseases’.
Those with a dementia diagnosis were significantly more likely to have a high degree of frailty before their diagnosis, the researchers found.
Details are published in the *Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry* today.
Dr Ward said: “We’re seeing increasing evidence that taking meaningful action during life can significantly reduce dementia risk. Our research is a major step forward in understanding how reducing frailty could help to dramatically improve a person’s chances of avoiding dementia, regardless of their genetic predisposition to the condition.
"This is exciting because we believe that some of the underlying causes of frailty are in themselves preventable. In our study, this looked to be possible partly through engaging in healthy lifestyle behaviours.”
Co-author Dr Kenneth Rockwood added: “The risk of dementia reflects genetic, neuropathological, lifestyle, and general health factors that in turn give rise to a range of abnormalities in the brain.
“Our study is an important step forward on the role of frailty, which appears to have a unique and potentially modifiable pathway in influencing dementia risk. That’s an incredibly exciting prospect that we must urgently explore to potentially benefit the growing number of people worldwide affected by dementia."
Ward, D. et al. Frailty, lifestyle, genetics and dementia risk. *Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry* 22 December 2021
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