Young-onset dementia: how to beat cognitive decline

We tend to associate dementia with old age. But a new study warns a growing number are being diagnosed with the disease in mid-life.  We look at science-backed ways to protect our brain

For many cases of young onset dementia, the cause is still unclear and individual risk is likely due to a complex interaction of genes, lifestyle environment and age.

Dementia is a disease most often associated with growing old, the consequence of progressive decline in cognitive ability that gradually causes problems with memory, thinking and problem-solving. But new research published in the Journal of Dementia Care warns that it can also strike much earlier, in mid-life.

“In the study we have exposed a hidden population of people living with young onset dementia that has not previously been recognised,” says Dr Janet Carter, associate professor of mental health neuroscience at University College London and lead author of the new paper. “This number is likely to be the tip of the iceberg.”