Many risk factors for Alzheimer's disease are linked to lifestyle or environment and the risk can be decreased at all ages, researchers in Australia say.
Lead researcher Professor Kaarin Anstey of the Australian National University in Canberra said a free 10-minute online test developed by ANU researchers is helping people assess their risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.
The test, known as the ANU Alzheimer's Disease Risk Index -- ANU-ADRI-- asks simple questions about exercise, diet and lifestyle to work out a person's exposure to known Alzheimer's risk factors.
"Anyone can use the ANU-ADRI to identify areas where they can change their lifestyle and reduce their risk of Alzheimer's," Anstey said in a statement. "Until now there hasn't been a self-assessment tool to help the public identify which common risk factors they have, and what they can do about them."
