According to a 2024 report from the Lancet Commission, nearly half of all dementia cases across the globe could be prevented or delayed by addressing 14 modifiable risk factors, with hearing loss being one of the most significant.
Hearing loss was identified as the No. 1 modifiable risk factor for dementia, sharing the top spot with high LDL cholesterol. The report’s experts determined that 7% of all dementia cases worldwide could be avoided or delayed if hearing loss was eliminated through treatment and prevention.
About the Findings
The 2024 report is an update to the standing Lancet Commission on dementia prevention, intervention and care report, which was first published in 2017 and updated in 2020. Hearing loss was identified as a modifiable risk factor for dementia in all three reports.
Other previously known risk factors include diabetes, lower levels of education, high blood pressure, obesity, depression, physical inactivity, traumatic brain injury, excessive alcohol consumption, smoking, air pollution and social isolation. Based on the latest evidence, two new risk factors were identified in the 2024 update—high LDL cholesterol (“bad cholesterol”) and vision loss.
The Report’s Recommendations
The Commission’s report urges governments and individuals to be proactive about tackling the risk factors, outlining a series of lifestyle and policy changes to reduce dementia rates and allow people to live healthier lives.
To help combat hearing loss, the report advises making hearing aids available for all people with hearing loss and reducing harmful noise exposure.
Gill Livingston, lead author and University College London psychiatry professor, noted: “Our new report reveals that there is much more that can and should be done to reduce the risk of dementia. It’s never too early or too late to take action, with opportunities to make an impact at any stage of life.”
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