3 dementia risk factors linked to delaying the disease by up to 13 years
42 percent of Americans over the age of 55 are expected to develop dementia during their lives.
A new research study in a recent breakthrough has discovered a way to delay or prevent the onset of most common types of dementia by up to 13 years.
According to a study published on Wednesday in the journal Neurology Open Access, people who avoid three vascular risk factors in the middle age can experience 13 more dementia-free years.
The findings hold significant importance as around 42 percent of Americans over the age of 55 are expected to develop dementia during their lives.
These risk factors include hypertension (high blood pressure), smoking and diabetes.
Researchers from NYU Langone Health followed 12,400 middle-aged US participants over 26 years. The study assessed the impacts of three major aforementioned vascular risks and they compared individuals having all three conditions against those with none.
Age 55: Dementia risk reached 23 percent for those with all three risk factors.
Age 75: Dementia risk increased to 37 percent for the same group.
Age 85: Only 7 percent of individuals with all three risk factors remained dementia-free.
On the whole, people with these risk factors enjoy 18 dementia-free years of their lives. On the other hand, the group with zero risk factors had an estimated 30 dementia-free years.
Dr. Josef Coresh, the director of the Optimal Aging Institute at NYU Langone Health and an author of the study, “We found if you had more risk factors, you had an elevated risk of both dementia and mortality.”
These findings suggest the importance of healthy blood vessels in protecting not only the heart but also the brain.
Dr. Anna S. Nordvig, neurologist at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian, links the healthy vessels with the healthy brain.
“Those three risk factors are all known to contribute to both small and large blood vessel disease in the brain. Controlling anything that improves cardiovascular health will also improve brain health.”said Nordvig, who was not involved in this study.
“Fifty-five [years old] is a great time to drastically improve your future of vascular health, both in your body and in your brain, and that also means slowing down dementia,” Nordvig added.
As per experts, prevention and significant lifestyle changes are the best way to deal with onset of dementia and it is never too late to start doing that.
