WHO: Up to 45% of dementia risk preventable through lifestyle changes

Fifty-seven million people around the world were living with dementia in 2021, and nearly ten million more cases emerged that year alone. For older Australians, the condition ranks among the most pressing health threats. But recent guidance from the World Health Organisation offers something rare in medicine: a genuinely hopeful message. Not every case of dementia can be stopped. But a substantial portion of the risk—up to 45 percent—can be reduced or delayed through choices people can actually make.

Dementia is not woven into the fabric of aging itself, though it does become more common after 65. The WHO has identified a long list of factors that nudge risk upward: high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, depression, hearing problems, vision loss, poor sleep, smoking, heavy drinking, sedentary living, loneliness, and air pollution. What matters now is that many of these are not fixed. They can be addressed. Managing hearing loss alone, for instance, can lower dementia risk by 15 percent. Combine that with controlled blood pressure, and the reduction climbs to roughly a quarter. These are not marginal gains.

Dr Nick Coatsworth, a medical expert and former deputy chief medical officer in Australia, has made this his focus. Speaking publicly about his own family history of dementia, he emphasized that blood pressure management and hearing protection are where the real leverage lies. "If you manage those two alone," he said, "I think you're up there around a quarter reduction in the risk, which is really good." For him, the connection between heart health and brain health is not theoretical—it is something he lives with daily, taking blood pressure medication as part of his routine.

The WHO's updated recommendations read like a practical checklist for daily life. Move regularly. Eat well. Stop smoking. Drink less. Keep your mind and social life active. Manage conditions like diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure. If you have hearing loss, consider hearing aids as part of your prevention strategy. The organization is careful to note that supplements—vitamin B, vitamin E, omega-3, multivitamins—are not recommended for dementia prevention unless a specific deficiency has been diagnosed. The evidence simply is not there.

What does have evidence behind it is connection. Coatsworth stressed this point with particular weight: the social dimension of life becomes more important, not less, as people age. That might mean joining a walking group, attending a class at a seniors' centre, volunteering in the community, playing cards with friends, singing in a choir, gardening alongside others, or simply staying in regular touch with family. "If you're able to keep close within your family, within your friends, you have a good community wrapping around you, this is the sort of thing that helps," he said. The isolation that can creep into later life is not merely lonely—it is a measurable risk factor.

Coatsworth distilled the evidence into four pillars: exercise, sleep, nutrition, and stress management. These are not exotic interventions. They are the fundamentals, the things people have always known matter but often struggle to prioritize. The WHO report, he suggested, simply reinforces what we already understand: that movement, good food, quality rest, and human connection are not luxuries. They are tools for protecting the brain.

The takeaway is neither a cure nor a guarantee. Dementia risk cannot be reduced to zero. Anyone noticing changes in their memory should speak with a doctor. But the research points toward something more achievable: a series of small, steady choices that, accumulated over time, may help preserve cognitive function and independence for years to come. Blood pressure checked regularly. Hearing tested and aided if needed. A walk most days. A meal shared with someone. These are not dramatic interventions. They are the texture of a life lived with intention.