Most people think of dementia as an unavoidable part of getting older. While age and genetics remain the biggest risk factors, scientists are increasingly finding that the health of your brain is also closely linked to the choices you make throughout life.
According to researchers from Lund University, whose study was published in The Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease, many of the factors associated with dementia are potentially modifiable.
Their findings suggest that protecting cardiovascular and metabolic health could help slow several harmful changes in the brain before symptoms appear, reports ScienceDaily.
Looking beyond Alzheimer's
Dementia is not a single disease but a group of disorders with different underlying causes. To better understand those differences, researchers followed nearly 500 adults, with an average age of 65, who showed no signs of cognitive impairment at the start of the study.
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Over four years, the team monitored changes in the brain's white matter alongside the buildup of amyloid-beta and tau, two proteins linked to Alzheimer's disease.
The biggest risk factors
The study found that several common health risks were strongly associated with damage to the brain's blood vessels and faster progression of white matter changes, a hallmark of vascular dementia.
The strongest associations were linked to smoking, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease and elevated blood lipid levels.
Researchers also found that diabetes was associated with greater amyloid-beta accumulation, while lower body mass index was linked to faster tau buildup. They caution that these findings require further research before firm conclusions can be drawn.
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Why it matters
Many people with dementia develop more than one type of brain disease at the same time. The researchers therefore believe that reducing vascular and metabolic risk factors may help lessen the combined burden on the brain, even when Alzheimer's-related changes are present.
Although no lifestyle change can eliminate the risk of dementia, the findings suggest that maintaining good heart health, controlling blood pressure and addressing other preventable risk factors may help delay the development of the disease.
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