A healthy lifestyle could help prevent Alzheimer’s disease, which could affect 360,000 people in Quebec by 2050, but the majority of Quebecers would not know what changes to make in their daily lives.
A recent survey conducted by Leger for the Lucilab application found that only 33% of Quebecers know what habits to break to prevent Alzheimer’s disease.
“Practicing a variety of intellectually stimulating activities, being physically active, and eating well are three examples of what we can do to take preventative action,” explained Dr. Isabelle Lussier, Cognitive Neuroscience Specialist and Director of Research and Intervention at Lucilab, an application offers free counselor support to people aged 45 to 70 to adopt lifestyle habits that promote brain health.
In fact, up to 40% of cases of Alzheimer’s and other serious neurocognitive disorders are due to modifiable risk factors, most of which are related to lifestyle.
Yet only 37% of adults aged 45 to 64 are considered “active” in terms of physical activity and mobility, and more than 80% of people aged 51 and over would not normally eat the recommended minimum amounts of vegetables and fruit for their age take.
Half of Quebecers would be motivated to improve their lifestyle to reduce their risk, but only a third of those surveyed would know what to do, according to the survey of 1,521 people conducted by Léger Marketing.
With the aging population and without curative treatment, Alzheimer’s cases could increase by 145%, reaching 360,000 people in Quebec by 2050.