Preventing dementia: signs & practical tips

• Dementia often develops gradually and usually goes unnoticed. Initial changes are usually subtle. 
• In Switzerland, over 161,000 people are affected by dementia, with some 35,000 new cases occurring each year. And the trend is rising.
• Not all forgetfulness is dementia. The crucial distinction lies in whether the symptoms worsen and start to affect everyday life.
• Dementia is caused by various processes in the brain, such as the breakdown of nerve cells or reduced blood flow to the brain. 
• A healthy lifestyle can significantly reduce the risk of dementia and have a positive influence on the course of the disease.

We all forget things from time to time: a name, an appointment or our keys. That alone is no cause for concern. It’s about whether these changes become more frequent, affect daily life, and persist over a longer period.

Occasional forgetfulness is a natural part of ageing. The difference lies in the extent and the consequences. People who occasionally forget a name and then remember it later are usually just experiencing normal age-related changes.

With dementia, however, information is permanently lost, and these difficulties increasingly affect daily life: conversations become hard to follow, familiar places seem strange, and simple routines become muddled. 

Even though dementia cannot be prevented with certainty, it is possible to reduce the risk. In its recent report on dementia prevention, an international team of scientists concludes that nearly half of all dementia cases could theoretically be prevented, or at least delayed, if modifiable risk factors were consistently reduced.

Dr Michael Röthlisberger, managing director of Dementia Research Switzerland – Synapsis Foundation, explains: “You can follow the recommendations to the letter and still get dementia. Unfortunately, there’s no guarantee. However, with the right preventive care, the risk can be reduced significantly.”

The sooner, the better. The latest Lancet report recommends reducing risk factors early on and keeping them low throughout life. 

Röthlisberger explains that researchers don’t yet fully understand when dementia begins biologically. With Alzheimer’s, changes in the body often start many years before the first symptoms become noticeable in daily life. This makes it all the more important not to wait until you’re 60 to adopt preventive habits.

At the same time, it’s never too early, but also never too late. The Lancet report emphasises that risk reduction can make a difference at every stage of life. Röthlisberger adds that preventive measures can still help stabilise or slow the progression of the condition, even in people with early-stage cognitive impairment.

While early detection through new blood tests expands the possibilities of medicine, Röthlisberger cautions against the expectation that everyone should now be tested as early as possible. It remains unclear for whom and when such tests are beneficial, and what specific actions can be taken with this information.

After all, knowing you have an increased risk doesn’t automatically provide peace of mind. “It’s also a personal and fundamental question: at what point do you want to know that you’re at increased risk of a particular disease? What do you do with that knowledge?” asks Röthlisberger.

As long as forms of dementia such as Alzheimer’s remain incurable, early detection remains both an ethical and a personal decision.

Many factors that influence the risk of dementia can be tackled in everyday life. The following tips show you how to keep your brain active and resilient in the long term. 

Dementia isn’t a single condition; it’s an umbrella term for over 100 different disorders that affect the brain. In particular, memory, thinking, orientation and language skills gradually decline. As the condition progresses, it becomes increasingly difficult for those affected to manage daily life on their own. 

Typically, changes develop over a period of months or even years. Unlike ordinary forgetfulness, these lapses don’t just affect isolated situations; they impact various areas of life. 

It’s important to understand that not all cases of dementia progress in the same way. Some forms are treatable or partially reversible, for example when they are triggered by another condition. However, other forms – such as certain neurodegenerative dementias – are incurable, but their progression can be managed. 

The terms are often used interchangeably, but they are not the same thing. Dementia is the general term, and Alzheimer’s is a specific form. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia, accounting for about 60% of cases. It is one of the so-called primary forms of dementia, in which nerve cells in the brain are gradually destroyed.

Therefore, while everyone with Alzheimer’s has dementia, not all cases of dementia are Alzheimer’s. In addition to Alzheimer’s, there are other forms, such as vascular dementia, which is caused by circulatory problems, or rarer conditions with different causes and symptoms. It is precisely these differences that are crucial, as the diagnosis, progression and treatment can vary significantly depending on the type of dementia. 

Dementia is not caused by a single trigger, but by various pathological changes in the brain. Depending on the form, nerve cells and their connections are damaged or destroyed. This, in turn, has consequences for memory, thinking and behaviour.

Experts identify several main mechanisms. Many forms of dementia involve the progressive loss of nerve cells, such as in Alzheimer’s disease. Other forms result from impaired blood flow in the brain, as in the case of vascular dementia.

Mixed forms are also common, where several processes are at work simultaneously. In addition, there are rarer causes, such as protein deposits or other conditions that can lead to dementia as a secondary effect. 

A healthy lifestyle is key to preventing dementia, and this is precisely where many health insurance benefits come into play.

• Promote exercise: Supplementary insurance covers part of the costs of a fitness centre membership or group courses such as yoga or Pilates.
• Nutrition advice: Nutrition advice may be covered under basic insurance if it is medically prescribed and provided by certified professionals.
• Medical and preventive check-ups: Certain check-ups are covered under basic insurance, while general check-ups without a medical indication are covered under supplementary insurance.

Health insurance covers many preventive measures. If you want to plan for the future, you should check which benefits are included in your insurance model and where additional options may be worthwhile.