Am I at risk for developing Alzheimer’s Disease or a Related Dementia (ADRD)? What can protect me from getting an ADRD?
These are common questions that a lot of people ask.
There are life circumstances that we experience that can increase or reduce the likelihood of the development of ADRD. Factors that increase the risk of developing an ADRD are risk factors. Factors that decrease the risk of developing an ADRD are protective factors.
Risk and protective factors can be biological, psychological, familial, social, and/or cultural. Some factors are things that we cannot change (unmodifiable factors) such as our biological sex. Some factors can be changed (modifiable factors) such as where we live or what we eat.
While there is no combination of risk and/or protective factors that absolutely predicts the development of ADRD, research studies have identified many factors that seem to play a role in developing ADRD. For information visit https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/assessing-risk-alzheimers-disease.