Lowering alcohol intake and reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes can dramatically slash the chances of dementia, according to the latest research from the University of Oxford.

Moreover, minimizing exposure to traffic-related air pollution could also help in fending off this debilitating brain condition. The research could further explain why certain demographic groups are more susceptible to dementia.

Scientists earlier discovered a vulnerable area in the brain that matures late during adolescence and degenerates earlier during old age. The new study examined 161 dementia risk factors and listed them according to their impact on this specific brain area, surpassing the ordinary effects of ageing.

These findings result from a comprehensive analysis by University of Oxford researchers who outlined 15 broad categories of modifiable risk factors. These included blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, weight, alcohol consumption, smoking, mood disorders, inflammation, pollution, hearing, sleep, socialising, diet, physical activity, and education.

The research suggested that among the risk factors that can be changed, alcohol intake, diabetes, and traffic-related air pollution posed the greatest threat. Diabetes UK emphasises that maintaining a healthy diet, achieving healthy weight and waist size, and leading an active lifestyle are key steps to reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes.

To substantiate their findings, the scientists evaluated genetic and modifiable influences on these brain regions. They did this by studying the brain scans of 40,000 UK Biobank database participants aged over 45.

Professor Gwenaelle Douaud, who led the study, said: "We know that a constellation of brain regions degenerates earlier in aging, and in this new study we have shown that these specific parts of the brain are most vulnerable to diabetes, traffic-related air pollution – increasingly a major player in dementia – and alcohol, of all the common risk factors for dementia.

"We have found that several variations in the genome influence this brain network, and they are implicated in cardiovascular deaths, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, as well as with the two antigens of a little-known blood group, the elusive XG antigen system, which was an entirely new and unexpected finding."