Alzheimer’s cannot be caused by cleanliness

By Abigail Mellier, | Health | 0 Comments

“Being too clean could increase your risk of developing Alzheimer’s,” The Sun has reported, while the Daily Mail reports that “an obsession with being too clean and hygienic could lead to a higher risk of dementia”.

These reports came following on the heels of the study that compared the rate of dementia between different countries. Countries with lower rate of urbanization, cleanliness etc also had lower number of Alzheimer’s cases. The countries with higher levels of pathogens as well infant mortality had lower number of Alzheimer’s cases.

But the suggestion that cleanliness is a cause for dementia is not backed by the study. The study was carried out by researchers from the University of Cambridge, University of Glasgow, University of Utah and McMaster University in Canada.

The factor’s which cause Alzheimer’s are as yet not clear however, genetic as well as age related factors are held responsible to a large extent.