Okay, just in case you missed it-- here is the dementia risk test we came up with.

Answer yes or no to the following questions:

Are you overweight?
Do you smoke?
Do you have high cholesterol?
Do you have high blood pressure?
Do you avoid exercise?

The more "yes" answers you give.. the greater your risk for dementia. Of course, as we mentioned at 5pm.. these risk factors coincide with your risk of cardiovascular disease too.

Now, here are a few nuggets you can only get here.

This is a link to the press release released from the Swedish team that worked on this.

http://ki.se/ki/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=130&a=15241&l=en

The OHSU doc we talked to (Dr. Jeffrey Kaye) says that area of the world does a lot of work in aging related research because the population is getting older there AND the national health system makes it a) easy to follow people over time and b) a good incentive to get a handle on the most expensive diseases facing that population.

Notice the part about your education... seems the better educated you are the lower the risk of dementia. Why? They don't know with certainty but there are working theories. The most common theory is that people with less education typically make less money and then have less access to things (like good healthcare) that make thier wealthier counterparts healthier. The most controversial theory centers on the suggestion that less educated people might be inherently less intelligent and may additionally possess subtle differences in thier brains that account for the greater rates of dementia.

Um, yeah.. I can see why that would be controversial!!

Lets move onto safer ground. To reduce your risk of dementia there are some simple things we can all do and I bet when you read this list you will groan.

#1) Eat right. Yeah, that means I need to put down the Salt-N-Vinegar chips.
#2) Get enough sleep. Check! Well, except last night ((see posting below))
#3) Exercise. Double check! I'm training for my second half marathon and lift weights.
#4) Be as healthy as you can. Okay, I can try harder here.

Are you groaning? Well, you know what-- these little tips are good for so much in life. I think if all of us gave it a better shot we'd be better off.

Links to puzzle websites.. I looked at two that didn't charge a fee and weren't out to sell your information all over the web. Please check them out for yourself before signing up. The theory on the puzzles is that anything that keeps your brain moving is really good for you. It's like lifting weights for your gray matter.

http://www.braingle.com/index.php
http://www.brainbashers.com/index.asp

Allrighty then.. til tomorrow? sstricklen@kgw.com