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Erin Clary
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January 5, 2022
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Maria College professor helps develop national goal on Alzheimer’s risk reduction
Albany, NY — Maria College Associate Professor for Ethics and Health Policy Dr. David Hoffman helped to develop a new national goal: to reduce the risks of Americans getting Alzheimer’s disease.
The goal was officially announced by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary (HHS) Xavier Becerra on December 27, 2021, and will be described in detail for the first time Wednesday, January 5, in a stakeholder briefing. It is the first time it has been included as part of the annual update to the Department’s National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease.
Hoffman was a founding member of the Federal Advisory Council on Alzheimer’s Research, Care, and Services of HHS and served on the subcommittee that developed the goal on risk reduction and healthy aging.
“This addition recognizes that the way we live our lives can have an impact on the type of life we live,” said Hoffman. “Healthy eating, regular physical activity, and moderation in lifestyle can all help us avoid or postpone late life challenges like dementia.”
The Advisory Council also recommended that this goal aim for a 15-percent reduction in the prevalence of 10 key risk factors by 2030. These risk factors include depression, diabetes, hearing loss, mid-life hypertension, physical inactivity, poor diet quality and obesity, poor sleep quality and sleep disorders, tobacco use, traumatic brain injury, and unhealthy alcohol use.
“The old adage, ‘if it’s good for your heart it’s good for your brain’ – has been proven to be correct in many cases,” said Hoffman.
Also under the plan’s new goal, the federal government will accelerate research on risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, and strengthen the infrastructure that is necessary to rapidly translate and disseminate information about risk factors, interventions to reduce the burden of risk factors, and related health promotion activities to health care providers, community-based providers, caregivers, and public health networks.
To learn more about the goal, visit:
- Plan Update: https://aspe.hhs.gov/reports/national-plan-2021-update
- Press Release: https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2021/12/27/hhs-emphasizes-healthy-aging-delay-onset-of-alzheimers-disease-related-dementias.html
To learn more about Dr. David Hoffman, visit mariacollege.edu.
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About Maria College. Founded in 1958, Maria College is one of 17 colleges and universities in the United States sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas. The private, co-educational, Catholic college in Albany serves approximately 800 students in a variety of bachelor degree, associate degree, a master’s degree, and certificate programs including liberal arts, healthcare management, nursing, psychology, occupational therapy, and health and occupational sciences. mariacollege.edu