+Undoctored Media release from the University of Auckland Friday 9 July 2021, 09:33 AM 1 minute to Read Dr Etuini Ma’u, University of Auckland senior lecturer in the Department of Psychological Medicine in the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences Aotearoa’s surging rates of dementia can be limited by targeting 12 potentially modifiable risk factors that vary across ethnic groups, a University of Auckland study suggests. The number of people in New Zealand with dementia is forecast to increase from 70,000 today to 170,000 by 2050. However, many cases can be avoided by reducing contributing factors such as hearing loss, smoking, depression, obesity, social isolation and physical inactivity, according to a new study published in The Lancet – Regional Health Western Pacific.