Want To Prevent Dementia? Ask These 12 Questions At Your Next Doctor's Appointment.
HuffPost
These inquiries will help improve your brain health, according to a recent report.
While you’re probably used to asking your doctor about new moles or a pesky cough, you might not be used to talking to them about your social connections or anxiety.
Turns out, there’s an array of topics you should be bringing up with your primary care doctor (or your neurologist, if you have one), according to a recent report in the journal Neurology.
The report detailed 12 questions that patients should discuss with their physician that can help protect the brain from cognitive decline. And while it lists some obvious brain health inquiries, it also includes factors that you likely don’t connect to your cognitive health, like your social interactions and diet.
Here are the 12 questions, according to the journal:
Sleep: Are you able to get sufficient sleep to feel rested?Affect, mood and mental health: Do you have concerns about your mood, anxiety or stress?Food, diet and supplements: Do you have concerns about getting enough or healthy enough food, or have any questions about supplements or vitamins?Exercise: Do you find ways to fit physical exercise into your life?Supportive social interactions: Do you have regular contact with close friends or family, and do you have enough support from people?Trauma avoidance: Do you wear seatbelts and helmets, and use car seats for children?Blood pressure: Have you had problems with high blood pressure at home or at doctor visits, or do you have any concerns about blood pressure treatment or getting a blood pressure cuff at home?Risks, genetic and metabolic factors: Do you have trouble controlling blood sugar or cholesterol? Is there a neurological disease that runs in your family?Affordability and adherence: Do you have any trouble with the cost of your medicines?Infection: Are you up to date on vaccines, and do you have enough information about those vaccines?Negative exposures: Do you smoke, drink more than one to two drinks per day or use nonprescription drugs? Do you drink well water or live in an area with known air or water pollution?Social and structural determinants of health: Do you have concerns about keeping housing, having transportation, having access to care and medical insurance or being physically or emotionally safe from harm?
It may depend, in part, on how old your cookware is.
Put your phone away and start paying attention.
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