The surprising impact distant relatives with Alzheimer’s have on your risk

It’s common knowledge that if someone in your immediate family (like your mom, dad, brother or sister) has Alzheimer’s, you have a higher risk of getting the disease too.

But things get a little murkier when it comes to distant relatives…

What if your great-grandpa had Alzheimer’s? Or your cousin was recently diagnosed? Or your great-aunt twice removed died from it?

The fact is, there hasn’t been a lot of research on how distant relatives affect your Alzheimer’s risk. But it would be nice to know. Especially since genes play such a prominent role in the disease.

Luckily, researchers finally have a clue how your Great Aunt Gertrude’s Alzheimer’s could affect you…

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Having distant relatives with Alzheimer’s raises your risk

A new study from researchers at the University of Utah dug deep into the connection between family history and Alzheimer’s…

These researchers looked at data from over 270,800 pioneers from the 1800s. This data included at least three generations of genealogy for each pioneer. And here’s what they found…

Having one first-degree relative (mom, dad, brother or sister) with Alzheimer’s disease raised the risk of getting the disease 73 percent. No surprise there. But they also found the following:

• Having two first-degree relatives with Alzheimer’s raised disease risk four times (400 percent)
• Having four first-degree relatives with Alzheimer’s raised disease risk 15 times (1,500 percent)
• Having one first-degree relative and one second-degree relative (grandparents, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces or half-siblings) raised disease risk 21 percent
• Having three third-degree relatives (first-cousins, great-grandparents or great aunt) with Alzheimer’s raised disease risk 43 percent

So, whether you have first, second or third-degree relatives with Alzheimer’s, it clearly affects your risk. Hopefully, this gives you the motivation to get serious about prevention, because genes are only part of the story. There are plenty of other factors that affect your Alzheimer’s destiny.

Protecting your brain from your family history

If you have distant relatives with Alzheimer’s, you need to focus on protecting your brain health more than those without that history hanging over their heads. How do you do that?

I’d recommend a three-pronged approach to prevent Alzheimer’s:

1. Exercise is like a balm for an aging brain, according to studies. It causes your brain to release a hormone that fight’s Alzheimer’s, it prevents (even reverses!) age-related brain shrinkage and more.
2. Eat the MIND diet. This is a diet designed specifically for optimum brain health. It’s a hybrid between the Mediterranean diet and the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet. You can learn more about it here.
3. Meditate. Research shows a form of Indian chanting meditation called Kirtan Kriya can improve brain function and prevent memory loss.
4. Support your brain’s blood vessels. Damage there has been linked to mild cognitive impairment, sometimes a precursor to Alzheimer’s.

Sources:

1. Having great-grandparents, cousins with Alzheimer’s linked to higher risk — MedicalXpress
2. Kirtan Kriya Yoga Singing Exercise — Alzheimer’s Research & Prevention