Professor Gill Livingston on how we can reduce our risk of developing dementia
"Think about which of the risk factors you have and tackle the easiest ones.” Professor Gill Livingston reflects on what we can take away from the recent Lancet Commission on dementia.
In August, the third Lancet Commission on dementia prevention, intervention, and care was published. Led by Professor Gill Livingston, Professor of Psychiatry of Older People in the UCL Division of Psychiatry, it found that addressing 14 modifiable risk factors, starting in childhood and continuing throughout life, could prevent or delay nearly half of dementia cases. In this video, Professor Livingston outlines the headline findings from the Commission.
Professor Livingston explains that these risk factors are spread over the life course and can be divided into: stimuli, for example being cognitively, socially and physically active; health factors, such as cholesterol, blood sugar, blood pressure, eyesight and hearing; and psycho-social factors, for example social isolation and depression.
Importantly, Professor Livingston notes that intervening at any time makes a difference in terms of reducing our risk of developing dementia and in this video, Professor Livingston talks about how someone can reduce their dementia risk by focusing on the factors that are the easiest to change.
Biography
Professor Livingston is a clinical academic, working with people with suspected or confirmed dementia and their families. Her work is interdisciplinary and considers mechanisms through epidemiological and biopsychosocial enquiry, using them to co-design evidence-based interventions and test them. She led the Lancet Standing Commission on Dementia Prevention, Intervention and Care, 2017, 2020 and 2024. These produced new research and meta-analyses of life-course risk and an overview of current knowledge on interventions. The findings have substantial implications in preventing and delaying a significant proportion of dementia.