In 2012, the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease was released. This plan included five goals aimed to achieve a better quality of life for those living with Alzheimer’s disease as well as to prevent new Alzheimer’s disease diagnoses.
Now, 10 years later, a new goal has been added to that plan. This sixth goal aims to advance our understanding of healthy aging by promoting research that can identify strategies to reduce risk factors. The plan also includes ways to communicate research findings to the public so that they can incorporate them into daily living.
Since the release of the National Plan, an increasing number of research studies, such as the PAAD-2 Study, have shown how some risk factors can be addressed to decrease the risk of cognitive decline. Modifiable risk factors such as inactivity, smoking, hypertension, obesity, and diabetes influence the risk of cognitive decline and changes to these behaviors can mitigate decline. For example, studies have shown that research participants who increase their physical activity or quit smoking experience reduced cognitive decline over time.
Results like these illustrate the importance of risk reduction as a prevention strategy. These types of studies reflect the sixth goal of the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease, the goal to “Accelerate Action to Promote Healthy Aging and Reduce Risk Factors for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias”.
Research efforts of several on-going studies are consistent with the strategies in the 6th goal. For example, the PAAD-2 study, FINGER study, and POINTER study have worked to show how lifestyle changes have benefits to brain health. Click here to read more about this new goal.