Avoiding 3 things during middle age may delay dementia risk by 13 years - CNN

A study published Wednesday in Neurology Open Access found that avoiding three health factors during middle age—type 2 diabetes, smoking and high blood pressure—may delay the onset of dementia by roughly 13 years.

Senior author Dr. Josef Coresh of NYU Grossman School of Medicine's Optimal Aging Institute analyzed more than 12,400 adults, quantifying how the combination of these vascular measures influenced when dementia set in.

Participants who had all three risk factors at an average age of about 56 were more than twice as likely to develop dementia and more than five times as likely to die prematurely from another cause.

Coresh noted that framing risk in terms of additional "good years" gained through lifestyle changes may motivate patients more than a percentage risk figure, and it is easier for clinicians to discuss.

The research shows association rather than causation, as health factors were measured only once before a median follow-up of about 26 years, with brain health assessed multiple times through 2022; Harvard's Dr. Sanjula Singh advised viewing the results as an estimate rather than an exact prediction.

Cardiologist Dr. Andrew Freeman of National Jewish Health called the findings exciting while stressing the need to help people live healthily, highlighting the distinction between lifespan and healthspan and the goal of avoiding heart attacks, strokes and dementia in later life.