On Thursday, January 18th, 2023, 4th Space in Montreal hosted a panel on reducing the risk of dementia where local academics and researchers discussed the prevalent risk factors for people today and how they can take steps to reduce these risks. About 55 million people worldwide live with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. In the coming years, this number is only expected to increase to reach 78 million by 2030. The panelists urged people that it’s vital to understand the risk factors so that they can slow down the increase.

Panelists included Montreal-based researchers and academics Dr. Natalie Phillips, Dr. Simon Duchesne, Dr. Simon Bacon, and Dr. Saskia Sivananthan. The panelists shared their expertise on the importance of maintaining good brain health and touched on Canadian initiatives for dementia prevention, especially through using lifestyle interventions. They talked about not only how individuals can approach implementing interventions in their own life, but also the societal barriers for those with dementia. Some examples covered in the discussion included psychological barriers to changing lifestyle habits, social determinants of health, and health inequities.

Systemic organizational aspects might also impact the likelihood of people developing dementia, said Dr. Saski Sivananthan. “Racism and colonialism have been linked and shown to impact communities and have legacy impact on communities. Indigenous communities for example are up to 35 per cent higher risk of dementia than non-Indigenous. Insecure housing and food insecurity and trauma are all social factors that impact these populations,” said Sivananthan. “We need health policies that are more holistic.”