Alzheimer’s Disease: Inevitable? Avoidable? It depends.

For anyone with a family member who suffered the ravages of Alzheimer’s Disease, a similar fate may seem terrifyingly unavoidable. After all, the propensity for Alzheimer’s Disease, a progressive, degenerative brain condition, is passed along genetically, right?

Actually, for most people, the likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s Disease in late life can be significantly affected by the lifestyle and health choices they make throughout life. That’s great news for many, but the key words here are “late life.” To understand why, it’s important to know that there are really two forms of this type of dementia: early-onset and late-life.

Early-onset Alzheimer’s Disease strikes people in their 40s, 50s or early 60s [S1] and often progresses rapidly. It is largely controlled by genetic factors, so lifestyle or health changes have little effect on the likelihood of developing it. In this form of the disease, the amyloid plaques and tau tangles that mar the brain are the chief cause of damage. Unfortunately, neuroscience has made little progress in preventing or repairing this type of damage in the brain. Fortunately, early-onset Alzheimer’s Disease accounts for less than 5 percent of Alzheimer’s cases, making it relatively rare.

Late-life Alzheimer’s Disease affects people over the age of 65 and is by far the more common form of the disease (accounting for 95 percent of cases). In late-life Alzheimer’s amyloid plaques and tau tangles aren’t the chief culprits and genetics play only a small role. Instead, other factors – stroke, traumatic brain injury (including concussion), hypertension, diabetes, obesity, sleep disorders, alcohol abuse, and stress – combine with plaques and tangles to damage the brain and tip it toward dementia.

It’s important to note that there’s increasing evidence that the damage caused by health conditions and lifestyle factors begins to accrue in midlife (perhaps even sooner!), so it’s never too soon to treat health conditions and develop a brain-healthy lifestyle that will help reduce your risk of developing late-life Alzheimer’s Disease. The bonus: Many of those changes will also help you think more clearly within mere weeks.