No one wants to think about getting to a point in their lives where they can’t care for themselves.

Or worse, we can’t recognize the people we love most.

For a long time, doctors have believed that ending up with dementia or Alzheimer’s was mostly due to change and/or genetics, but this new study suggests there are a couple of risk factors actually within our control.

Researchers found that nearly half of global dementia cases include these risk factors, so managing them could delay or prevent a diagnosis in many instances.

Fiona Carragher, Chief Policy and Research Officer at Alzheimer’s Society made a statement on the findings.

“Dementia is the UK’s biggest killer and a global crisis affecting more than 55 million people, but it’s never too early or too late to reduce your dementia risk. This Lancet Commission study…identifies two new risk factors for developing dementia: untreated vision loss and high LDL cholesterol.”

There are other identified risk factors that could potentially be controlled as well, but many would require buy-in at high levels of society.

“Some dementia risk factors, such as alcohol consumption and physical exercise, can be managed by changing your lifestyle, but many must be addressed on a societal level. Social isolation, education inequalities, and air pollution are beyond individuals’ control and require public health interventions and joint action between Government and industry.”

Anything people can do themselves to avoid this diagnosis is a win.

That said, our governments really need to step up as well.

If you found that story interesting, learn more about why people often wake up around 3 AM and keep doing it for life.