3 factors that greatly increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease

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Alzheimer's disease is a real risk for older people, but three factors may increase the likelihood of developing the “brain-stealing” condition.

A recently published study has identified additional factors that may lead to Alzheimer's disease.

A “strong link” was found between post-traumatic stress disorder and dementia. The other two factors included traumatic brain injury and a variant of the APOE gene. Studies have shown that if you inherit one copy of e4 [APOE], you are at increased risk of Alzheimer's disease.

If you inherit two copies, you are at much higher risk. Alzheimer's risk increases with age for all APOE genotypes.

“But compared to people with two copies of the common variant, the difference in risk for those with the e4 copy peaks somewhere between 65 and 70 years.”

Furthermore, the risk of dementia associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and head trauma was higher in carriers of the e4 gene.

While genes play a “big role” in Alzheimer's risk, the study suggests that genes “don't tell the whole story.”

Previous head trauma and PTSD may play a big role in dementia risk.