Learning One Word Could Help Prevent a Third of Alzheimer's Cases

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is on track to become one of the defining public health challenges of our time. Every three seconds, somewhere in the world, someone is diagnosed with dementia, and it's usually Alzheimer's disease.

Currently, approximately 50 million people worldwide have AD. By 2050, this number will exceed 130 million.

The human health and socioeconomic consequences of this are going to be immense. But perhaps it doesn't have to be this way.

Preventing Alzheimer's disease

A 2024 report from the influential Lancet Commission suggests that up to one-third of AD cases could be prevented simply by avoiding certain risk factors .

These 14 modifiable risk factors encompass: traumatic brain injury, hypertension, depression , diabetes , smoking, obesity, high cholesterol