Brain health in young adults

Early detection and management of risk factors is the best way to prevent the neurodegenerative changes that cause clinical dementia. Despite this, research on risks to brain health continues to focus on middle aged and older adults. Life course models of dementia focus on only one early risk factor—education—with the remaining factors focused on mid-life onwards.1 As a result, we are faced with a knowledge gap about brain health in young adults spanning over 20 years.Good brain health is a state of optimal cognitive, sensory, social-emotional, and behavioural functioning.2 Understanding brain health in young adults is critical as they have the opportunity to make early and long term changes to minimise risk. This is particularly important now, given the widespread and serious consequences of the covid-19 pandemic on young peoples’ mental health.3Young adults (born between 1981 and 2004) account for over 30% of the world’s population4 and have unique characteristics…
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