Three everyday habits could add over a decade to your brain's healthy years, scientists have suggested.
A new study suggests that keeping blood pressure in check, avoiding diabetes and not smoking between the ages of 45 and 65 could buy you an extra 13 years free of dementia.
The research, a decades-long study recently published in the journal Neurology, set out to measure how managing these risk factors in midlife affects long-term brain health.
High blood pressure, diabetes and smoking all have a well-established link with cognitive decline, but what's less clear is how much they influence dementia rates.
To assess this, researchers at New York University (NYU) monitored more than 12,000 people who were dementia-free at age 55. The participants were assessed for all three risk factors at the start of the study, then monitored for an average of 26 years to see if they went on to develop dementia.
People with none of these three risk factors in middle age lived dementia-free for almost 13 years longer than those who did have them.
Researchers also found that, regardless of risk factors, women lived longer without dementia than men, and White participants had more dementia-free years than Black participants.
The study builds on previous research, which identified 14 modifiable risk factors for dementia. “It’s estimated that nearly half of dementia cases worldwide could theoretically be prevented or delayed if those risks were addressed across the life course,” said Prof Sarah Harper from the University of Oxford.
According to the World Health Organization, 57 million people worldwide were living with dementia in 2021, and there are nearly 10 million new cases every year.
“Our findings argue that people need to actively avert these factors in midlife as a strategy for preserving brain health for more than a decade,” said study senior investigator Dr Josef Coresh of the Optimal Aging Institute at NYU.
“Discovering new ways to delay dementia is crucial with 42 per cent of Americans at risk for developing the condition at any time after age 55.”
The study authors stress that what they’ve discovered is an association between the health factors and dementia risk, not proof that they are the cause of cognitive decline. It can be challenging to work out exactly how risk factors influence dementia, according to Harper, as the illness can be present up to a decade before people receive an actual diagnosis.
Harper was also keen to point out that “the key factors identified in the NYU study are all modifiable by individuals themselves. While there is a genetic element to each, blood pressure and diabetes are strongly influenced by behavioural factors, especially diet and physical activity, and smoking is a lifestyle choice.”
The study’s findings, she said, are a call to action. “There is an important public health message here.”
Read more:
