Diabetes and depression prevention 'will reduce dementia cases'

Scientists have claimed that focusing resources on healthy eating and reducing levels of depression in society will lead to fewer people developing dementia.

British and French academics combined to produce a study of over 1,400 healthy people over the age of 65, publishing the results in the latest edition of the British Medical journal.

It concluded that healthy eating and the resultant reduction in diabetes cases would fewer people develop dementia, while depression should also be a key issue in future public policy.

Reacting to the news, the Alzheimer's Research Trust chief executive Rebecca Wood said that this latest study add more weight to the body of evidence which suggests diabetes and depression have a major impact on the number of people who develop dementia.

"What is painfully evident from the study is the gaping hole that remains in our understanding and ability to diagnose or treat dementia effectively, a hole that can only be filled by more research," she added.

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