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A new online tool used to determine a person’s risk of developing dementia in just 20 minutes has proven to be effective, according to Australian researchers.
Experts from UNSW collaborated with Neuroscience Research Australia last year to develop the CogDrisk tool, an online personalised test which surveys patients to give to their health practitioner.
“Not only are there lots of risk factors, but dementia itself is very complex," said UNSW Professor Kaarin Anstey.
"So we’re trying to develop ways of making it easier for the public and GPs to get the right information.”
Over 400,000 Australians were living with dementia last year, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
This number is expected to more than double in the next 35 years.
Cognitive Neuroscientist and Research Support Program Fellow Dr Diana Karamacoska said the tool could encourage people to seek professional medical treatment earlier.
"When I'm on the ground to bring information about dementia to other adults, we're always asked about the risk factors and what they can do to prevent dementia," Dr Karamacoska told Aged Care Insite.
"The fact that we have this tool now that can generate someone's unique risk profile is going to empower people to come forward to get assessed for their brain health."
A new report published in the Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease last week confirmed the tests accuracy and described it as "a valid assessment tool that predicts dementia and AD."
"We analysed the global information on risk factors for dementia through systematic reviews," Professor Anstey said.
"We then worked out the effect sizes of the different risk factors and used this to produce an algorithm which is the risk score."
Risk factors of dementia include lack of physical activity, middle age obesity and high blood pressure, as well as smoking, and poor diet.
The research team is also working towards translating the online tool into different languages to make it more accessible.
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