World Alzheimer’s Day: Diabetes, hypertension and obesity emerging as key risk factors for memory loss
New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): World Alzheimer's Day is celebrated worldwide every year on September 21st. The purpose of this day is to raise awareness about Alzheimer's disease and related illnesses. Alzheimer's disease is a disease that affects a person's thinking, memory and daily activities.
Numerous scientific studies have proven that a poor lifestyle impacts our mental health potentially leading to serious illnesses like Alzheimer's. Illnesses like high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity, which previously appeared after the age of 60 or 70 are now appearing in people aged 30 or 40. These diseases are not only damaging the heart and body but are also having a serious impact on the brain.
If diabetes doesn't keep blood sugar levels under control for long periods of time, the brain doesn't receive the proper amount of energy. Brain cells become sluggish, and the person begins to have difficulty remembering things. Some scientists have even called it type 3 diabetes because like diabetes it damages the brain internally.
Due to this, the functioning of insulin in the brain can deteriorate, due to which the power of thinking and memory gradually starts decreasing. High blood pressure is considered a heart-related disease but its effect on the brain is also profound. When the blood pressure in the body remains continuously high, pressure is put on the brain's veins. Due to this, the flow of blood to the brain is not proper. When the brain does not get proper nutrition and oxygen, its efficiency starts decreasing.
This increases the risk of diseases like Alzheimer's and dementia, especially if the condition persists for a long time. People who are obese, especially those with excess fat around their abdomen, tend to have a type of inflammation in their bodies called chronic inflammation. This inflammation can gradually damage the nerves in the brain.
Obesity causes hormonal changes in the body that can impair brain function. This process is slow, but by the time symptoms become apparent, it's often too late.