Online Alzheimer's Cognitive Function Test Could Help Us Lower Our Risk

With longer lifespans comes an increased risk of suffering from illnesses common in old age, and Alzheimer's diagnoses are on the rise worldwide.

Whether you will develop Alzheimer's or not can feel like a lottery and most of us do nothing but hope it doesn't happen to us. But now experts are keen to predict people's risk of developing the illness, to give us the information we need before its onset to prevent - or at least slow - the debilitating condition.

So now, said experts have created a short online test that anyone can take - with both timed and non-timed exercises to measure cognitive function, and a series of lifestyle questions such as the amount of protein, refined carbs and sugar you eat, how much coffee and alcohol you consume and how much you exercise, do crosswords and other markers of future health.

The 37-question quiz has been developed with the charity Food For The Brain by Oxford University's Professor David Smith, a leading figures in Alzheimer's research.

He told the Daily Express: "Not only does the test give people positive prevention steps to reduce risk in the long-term but also there's an annual check-up so people can track how diet and lifestyle changes impact on their cognitive function."

Aimed at 50 to 70 year olds, the quiz begins with a selection of questions relating to images on a grid of the screen. Later you run through timed questions where you compare images and letters and later memory tests are introduced.

The final part of the test runs through your lifestyle and the results are immediate - putting you on a scale that shows if you're of a low, average or above average risk and giving you lifestyle advice to help you change your potential life outcome.

The advice ranges from upping your antioxidant intake to limiting coffee - though it's worth noting that some studies have shown that caffeine actually helps slow the onset of dementia.

Supplementing B vitamins is also suggested, as well as keeping mentally and physically active.

The information is nothing we haven't heard before - keeping you brain working, getting enough exercise and eating healthily have huge health benefits beyond preventing Alzheimer's, but targeting it to the individual is useful to help you see where you're going on.

And though aimed at the over 50s, younger people can take the test  too. You will be judged on your cognitive scores related to your age. And perhaps knowing you're at a higher risk when you're in a good position to make serious lifestyle changes is even better than finding out you're at risk in your 60s.

You can take the Cognitive Function Test at Food For The Brain.

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