Before you begin, have you completed the first module in this series about dementia?
Part one: Understanding dementia

The first module in this series considered the prevalence and different types of dementia. This module moves on to discuss the different risk factors associated with the disease, as well as the considerations involved in diagnosis.

There are a mixture of risk factors that may increase a person’s risk of developing dementia and this risk varies from person to person.

• Age

The risk of a person developing dementia increases with age. This does not mean dementia is part of the normal aging process.

• Genes

Inheriting two copies of the E4 allele of the apolipoprotein gene (for Alzheimer’s disease) will increase a person’s risk of developing dementia.