Drinking and smoking give you Alzheimer's, new research reveals

Drinking, smoking and eating junk food can all cause Alzheimer's, new research revealed today.

The lifestyle links to the condition, the most common form of dementia, emerged in two studies presented to neurologists in the US.

Research suggests that heavy drinkers and smokers as well as those who indulge in junk food risk succumbing to the disease eight years soon than those with healthier lifestyles.

It also suggested people who enjoy more than two drinks a day develop Alzheimer's disease almost five years earlier than others.

One team looked at 938 people aged 60 and older who were diagnosed with possible or probable Alzheimer's disease.

Information from family members on the patients' drinking and smoking history showed that "heavy" drinkers - those who consumed more than two alcoholic drinks a day - developed Alzheimer's nearly five years earlier than those who drank less or not at all.

Men and women who got through at least 20 cigarettes a day developed the disease almost two and a half years sooner than patients who smoked less or were non-smokers.

Smoking and drinking hastened the onset of the disease even further, the American Academy of Neurology's annual conference heard today.

Lead researcher Dr Rajan Duara said: "We found that the combination of heavy drinking and heavy smoking reduced the age of onset of Alzheimer's disease by six to seven years, making these two factors among the most important preventable risk factors for Alzheimer's disease.

"These results are significant because it's possible that if we can reduce or eliminate heavy smoking and drinking, we could substantially delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease for people and reduce the number of people who have Alzheimer's at any point in time.

"It has been projected that a delay in the onset of the disease by five years would lead to nearly a 50 per cent reduction in the total number of Alzheimer's cases."

Having a gene linked to Alzheimer's further hastened the onset of the disease, the study, carried out at the Mount Sinai Medical Centre in Florida, found.

Patients who were heavy smokers and drinkers and carried the rogue gene developed Alzheimer's at an average age of 68 and a half - eight and a half years sooner than those who drank and smoked less and didn't have the gene.

A separate study by Finnish and US scientists found that people with the highest cholesterol levels in their early 40s were one and a half times more likely to develop the disease than those with the lowest levels.

Researcher Dr Alina Solomon, from the University of Kuopio in Finland, said: "Our findings show it would be best for both physicians and patients to attack high cholesterol levels in their 40s to reduce the risk of dementia."

A third study, carried out at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota found that exercising between two and five times a week in middle age keeps the memory sharp in later years.

Dr Susanne Sorensen, head of research at the Alzheimer's Society, said: "It is important that people lead a healthy lifestyle to reduce the risk of developing dementia.

"Smoking, drinking heavily and having high cholesterol can all lead to an increased risk of developing this devastating condition and the risk is further increased for individuals with a particular genetic variant.

"Not only is dementia devastating for the individual and their family, it also places a huge burden on society.

"If we can reduce the number of people living with dementia we can increase the quality of life and independence of older people in our communities."

Advice includes eating a balanced diet rich in vitamins, exercising regularly, not smoking, drinking in moderation and having regular blood pressure and cholesterol checks.