Chris Hemsworth on the life-changing news of his genetic predisposition to Alzheimer's

The actor is eight to 10 times more likely to battle the disease.

Chris Hemsworth on the life-changing news of his genetic predisposition to Alzheimer's. Image: @chrishemsworth

In a recent sit-down with Vanity Fair, Chris Hemsworth revealed his recent a genetic predisposition for Alzheimer’s, and how it has changed his perspective on everything. 

In a very raw moment during a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Chris Hemsworth has revealed that he has recently discovered his genetic predisposition to Alzeimer’s disease.

The 39-year-old actor explained that during the filming of his latest project, a Disney+ docuseries titled Limitless With Chris Hemsworth, he was informed of two copies of the risk factor gene, APOE4, which increases his risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and other dementias later in life.

The Thor star shared how the news of his predisposition is something that has taken him a while to come to terms with.

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"Most of us, we like to avoid speaking about death," Hemsworth told the Vanity Fair. "Then to all of a sudden be told some big indicators are actually pointing to this as the route which is going to happen, the reality of it sinks in. Your own mortality."

The detection of two copies of the APOE4 gene in Hemsworth genetic framework indicates that he has inherited the gene from both of his parents. One in every four people are likely to carry a single copy of the gene, but having two copies is a scenario which affects only two to three per cent of the entire population, according to a 2021 study by the National Institutes of Health.

With two copies of the gene, Hemsworth is "eight to 10 times more likely" to be diagnosed with the dementia disease and to battle progressive mental deterioration later in life.

Hemsworth noted that while the news of his genetic predisposition was initially confronting, it wasn’t completely shocking, especially given his grandfather’s long battle with Alzheimer’s.

“I'm not sure he actually remembers much anymore and he slips in and out of Dutch, which is his original language, so he'll be talking Dutch and English and then a mash-up and then maybe some other new words as well.”

And while he notes there was an obvious “intensity” in navigating his predisposition, in true Hemsworth form, that seriousness quickly subsided.

“It quickly became a self-deprecating sort of joke, if you will. It's just the way I am, my family, there's a sense of humor. And such is life, so …”

Chris Hemsworth on the life-changing news of his genetic predisposition to Alzheimer's. Image: @chrishemsworth

Since receiving the news, Hemsworth has made a conscious effort to make slight changes to his lifestyle in order to preserve his brain health as much as possible. He acknowledges that he is more selective than ever with the projects he decides to take on in his work life, and above all else, he is sure to prioritise spending time with his family.

“For me, the positive of it was like, ‘Right, if I didn't know this [Alzheimer's] information, I wouldn't have made the changes I made.’ I just wasn't aware of any of it, so now I feel thankful that I have in my arsenal the sort of tools to best prepare myself and prevent things happening in that way,” the father-of-three explains.

"When you have predisposition to … anything – it's all about sleep management, stress management, nutrition, movement fitness," he continued. "It's all kind of the same tools that need to be applied in a consistent way."

And he hopes in sharing his own journey, he can help encourage others to take similar “preventative measures” in order to better preserve the life they have.

Originally published as Chris Hemsworth on the life-changing news of his genetic predisposition to Alzheimer's