Prevention, Risks, and Causes

New Zealand Dementia Foundation > Research Radar > Risks and Causes
Neurodegenerative Diseases in Male Former First-Class New Zealand Rugby Players. 


Anns, F., Quarrie, K. L., Milne, B. J., Li, C., Gardner, A. J., Murphy, I. R., … & D’Souza, S. (2025).
Sports Medicine, 1-16.

This study compared males born who were active in high-level (provincial or higher) roles (n = 12,861) with males from the general population (n = 2,394,300) and found a small-to-moderate increase in dementia risk.

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Variation of the Risk Associated With Potentially Modifiable Risk Factors for Dementia Between Ethnic Groups Within One Country. A Retrospective Cohort Study Using Routinely Collected Health Data in Aotearoa New Zealand.f


Ma’u, E., Cullum, S., Cheung, G., Tamatea, J., Livingston, G., & Mukadam, N. (2025). 
International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 40(1), e70042. 

This study found that six risk factors, including low education, smoking, diabetes, depression, lack of physical activity, and social isolation, increased dementia risk by 13-55%.

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Self-Reported Diagnosis of Mental Disorders, Psychological Distress, and Risk of Incident Dementia in New Zealand.


Ma’u, E., Mukadam, N., Livingston, G., Cheung, G., & Cullum, S. (2025).  
International Psychogeriatrics, 100075.

Etuini Ma’u and colleagues have analysed data from the New Zealand Health Survey and found that people who reported mental health issues or distress were more likely to develop dementia than their peers.

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Estimating the Impact of Risk Factor Reduction on Dementia Prevalence in New Zealand.


Ma’u, E., Mukadam, N., Livingston, G., Cheung, G., & Cullum, S. (2025).  
Alzheimer’s & Dementia, 21(7), e70440.

This New Zealand study found that reducing 12 modifiable dementia risk factors by just 15% could prevent up to 14.6% of dementia cases, with even greater benefits for Māori and Pacific peoples over a 30-year period.

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Navigating Ethnic Diversity: Rethinking Dementia Prevention in Aotearoa New Zealand.


Ma’u, E., Cullum, S., & Cheung, G. (2024).
Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 58(5), 381–384.

Argues that almost half of dementia in New Zealand is potentially preventable, and this rises to over 50% of dementia in Māori and Pacific peoples. While complete elimination of risk factors is unlikely, even modest reductions in risk factor prevalence can significantly reduce dementia incidence.

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The Effect of Moderate Alcohol Use on the Health of Older Adults in New Zealand: A Scoping Review and Analysis of the Health, Work and Retirement Study.


Pi, S.Z. (2023).
University of Auckland Master’s Thesis.

This research undertook a review of the existing literature on the effect of moderate alcohol consumption on health outcomes and secondary data analyses of a New Zealand cohort study. The scoping review found contradictory evidence on the link between alcohol and dementia.

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The Frontotemporal Dementia Prevention Initiative: Linking Together Genetic Frontotemporal Dementia Cohort Studies.


Rohrer J.D., Boxer A.L. (2021)
In: Ghetti B., Buratti E., Boeve B., Rademakers R. (eds) Frontotemporal Dementias. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 1281. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51140-1_8

Researchers involved in Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) cohort studies from several countries, including New Zealand (NZ FTD Genetic Study, FTDGeNZ), have come together to form the FTD Prevention Initiative (FPI).  

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Nanopore Sequencing of the Glucocerebrosidase (GBA) Gene in a New Zealand Parkinson’s Disease Cohort.


Graham, O. E., Pitcher, T. L., Liau, Y., Miller, A. L., Dalrymple-Alford, J. C., Anderson, T. J., & Kennedy, M. A. (2020).
Parkinsonism & Related Disorders, 70, 36–41.

This study found that 9.2% of patients from a New Zealand Parkinson’s disease cohort carry GBA mutations. There is a significantly higher prevalence of dementia in patients carrying GBA mutations.

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Risk of Parkinson’s Disease Dementia Related to Level I MDS PD-MCI.


Hoogland, J., Boel, J. A., De Bie, R. M., Schmand, B. A., Geskus, R. B., Dalrymple-Alford, J. C., … & Pedersen, K. F. (2019).
Movement Disorders, 34(3), 430–435.

This meta-analysis combined the data from 8 studies (involving 1045 patients) to investigate the risk factors for conversion from mild cognitive impairment to Parkinson’s disease dementia.

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Early Onset Dementia in New Zealand Pacific Boxers: A Case Series.


Payman, V., Yates, S., & Cullum, S. (2018). 
Alcohol, 5(6), 7.

This paper presents a case series of eight former amateur or professional boxers, all of Pacific background and all living in South Auckland, New Zealand, seven of whom present with early-onset dementia (onset prior to age 65) and one with onset of dementia at age 71.

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Different PD-MCI Criteria and Risk of Dementia in Parkinson’s Disease: 4-Year Longitudinal Study. NPJ Parkinson’s Disease, 2, 15027.


Wood, K. L., Myall, D. J., Livingston, L., Melzer, T. R., Pitcher, T. L., MacAskill, M. R., … & Dalrymple-Alford, J. C. (2016). 

A longitudinal study followed 121 non-demented PD patients for up to 4.5 years. The conclusion was that If the intent of a PD-MCI diagnosis is to detect increased risk of PDD in the next 4 years, optimal criteria should identify at least two impairments at 1.5 s.d. within a single cognitive domain.

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Healthy Eating and Reduced Risk of Cognitive Decline: A Cohort From 40 Countries.


Smyth, A., Dehghan, M., O’Donnell, M., Anderson, C., Teo, K., Gao, P., … & Yusuf, S. (2015).
Neurology, 84(22), 2258–2265.a.

This study sought to determine the association of dietary factors and risk of cognitive decline in a population at high risk of cardiovascular disease. Baseline dietary intake and Mini-Mental State Examination scores were recorded for 27,860 men and women enrolled in 2 international parallel trials (including New Zealand). Higher diet quality was associated with a reduced risk of cognitive decline. Improved diet quality represents an important potential target for reducing the global burden of cognitive decline.

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Raised Plasma Homocysteine Levels in Alcoholism: Increasing the Risk of Heart Disease and Dementia?


Robinson, G., Narasimhan, S., Weatherall, M., & Beasley, R. (2005).
The New Zealand Medical Journal, 118(1216), 1–7

Raised plasma homocysteine levels may contribute to the increased risk of dementia associated with alcoholism. This study measured plasma homocysteine levels in 20 female and 31 male alcoholic subjects admitted to the hospital for detoxification.

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Changes in Plasma cGP/IGF-1 Molar Ratio With Age Are Associated With Cognitive Status of Parkinson’s Disease.


Hoogland, J., Boel, J. A., de Bie, R. M., Geskus, R. B., Schmand, B. A., Dalrymple‐Alford, J. C., …& Burn, D. J. (2017).
Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring, 12(1), e12025.

This study examined the association between plasma cGP/IGF-1 molar ratio and cognitive scores or age in patients with Parkinson’s disease (intact, MCI, or dementia) and healthy controls.  Increased cGP/IGF-1 molar ratio with age may contribute to cognitive retention.

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Geographical Variation in Dementia Mortality in Italy, New Zealand, and Chile: 
The Impact of Latitude, Vitamin, and Air Pollution.


APRuss, T. C., Murianni, L., Icaza, G., Slachevsky, A., & Starr, J. M (2016).
Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders, 42(1-2), 31-41.

This study calculated standardised mortality ratios (SMRs) for deaths in 2012 where dementia was recorded as the underlying cause for regions in Italy, New Zealand and Chile. Geographical variation plays a key role in dementia risk, but patterns differ between men and women and between the northern and southern hemispheres.

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Motor Neurone Disease: Bringing New Zealand Patients Onto the World Stage.


Scotter, E. L. (2015). 
The New Zealand Medical Journal (Online), 128(1409), 12.

Motor neurone disease (MND) is the umbrella term for a group of degenerative diseases of the motor neurons, of which amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is the most common form. TMND is under-researched in New Zealand.

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Accounting for Differences in Cognitive Health Between Older Adults in New Zealand and the USA.


Stephens, C., Spicer, J., Budge, C., Stevenson, B., & Alpass, F. (2015).
International Psychogeriatrics, 27(4), 591-600.

Two nationally representative samples were compared. Older New Zealand adults displayed better cognitive function than those in a US sample. This advantage can be partially explained by age and sex differences and, to some extent, by differences in known risk factors. However, the national advantage persisted even after controlling for all measured risk factors.

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