Risk reduction of cognitive decline and dementia: WHO guidelines: executive summary, 2nd ed.

Overview

This executive summary presents the key recommendations from the second edition of the WHO guidelines on risk reduction of cognitive decline and dementia, updating the 2019 edition to reflect the latest evidence and advances in dementia risk reduction. Adopting a life-course perspective, the guidelines apply to adults without dementia, including those with normal cognition or mild cognitive impairment, and address interventions to promote healthy behaviours and lifestyles, manage health conditions associated with increased dementia risk, reduce exposure to environmental risk factors and implement tailored multidomain interventions.

The publication supports health-care providers, policy-makers and other stakeholders in integrating dementia risk reduction into policies, services and programmes. It emphasizes integrated and multisectoral approaches that address structural and sociocultural barriers, with equity as a central consideration, and identifies evidence gaps and priorities for future research.