Up to 45% of dementia cases could potentially be prevented or delayed by addressing risk factors such as smoking, alcohol use, and physical inactivity, according to newly updated guidance from the World Health Organisation – the first major update since 2019, reports Newsweek.
Other risk factors include social isolation, high blood pressure and air pollution, and the WHO provides several new evidence-based strategies that could reduce cognitive decline and dementia risk throughout life.
More than 57m people worldwide have dementia, with nearly 10m new cases being diagnosed every year. Alzheimer’s disease accounts for an estimated 60% to 70% of all dementia cases, but there is still has no cure for this, and not many accessible treatments once symptoms begin.
As a result, prevention has become increasingly important.
What to know
Among recommendations to help decrease the chances of developing dementia are reducing exposure to air pollution: there is growing evidence linking polluted air to cognitive decline and dementia risk.
“The biggest change to the guidelines is that WHO is starting to frame dementia as something that can be prevented instead of something for which families inevitably have to prepare,” Faris Flournoy, CEO of Flournoy Health Systems, told Newsweek.
“These guidelines mark one of the first times the WHO has provided clear recommendations for reducing dementia risk, giving families hope and making healthy ageing more accessible.”
More emphasis has also been put on cognitive training, with the guidance recommending specific cognitive stimulation and activities to challenge the brain.
The agency continues to recommend the following:
Regular physical activity
Stopping tobacco use
Reducing alcohol consumption
Eating a healthy diet
Managing high blood pressure
Controlling diabetes
Addressing high cholesterol
Keeping track of hearing health and the use of hearing aids when appropriate
What not to do
The WHO notes that there is insufficient evidence to support taking certain supplements solely to prevent dementia. It advises against routinely using vitamin B supplements, vitamin E supplements, oOmega-3 supplements and multivitamins unless a deficiency has been identified.
Arguably the biggest addition to the 2026 guidance is that air pollution is now officially a dementia risk factor. While previous prevention efforts focused largely on lifestyle and cardiovascular health, the guidance now says exposure to polluted air should be viewed as part of dementia-risk reduction.
Brain training also gets stronger backing, with the updated guidance placing greater emphasis on maintaining cognitive activity through brain stimulation and learning.
However, exercise and diet play a key role as well.
“Encouraging someone to make simple everyday changes to their diet and adding in more movement throughout their day is much easier to do than having to rearrange your life to take care of them for a disease once thought to be unavoidable,” Flournoy said. “This doesn’t automatically mean that every case can be prevented, but it does give us more power over dementia than ever before.”
The updated guidance also reflects growing recognition that loneliness and social isolation can affect cognitive health, with the guidelines now explicitly recommending social engagement as part of dementia-risk reduction efforts.
The agency urges countries to integrate dementia prevention into their public health policy.
Newsweek article – Dementia Prevention Guidelines Updated—Here’s What Changed (Open access)
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
WHO issues its first guidelines on reducing dementia risk
Midlife vitamin D may lower dementia risk – cohort study
Too much or too little sleep tied to dementia risk – Canadian review