Midlife Health Choices Could Delay Dementia by Over a Decade
Maintaining normal blood pressure, stable blood sugar, and avoiding smoking in middle age significantly extends dementia-free years.
Image: Eddie Pollard / AI
Sarah Connor
More than 900,000 people in the UK currently live with dementia, a figure projected to surge to over 1.6 million by 2040.
NYU Langone Health led a study, tracking over 12,000 individuals for an average of 26 years; it scrutinized three critical risk factors.
Eliminating these three risks extends dementia-free lifespans by an average of 13 years, the institution confirms.
The study analyzed medical data from participants averaging 56 years old, focusing on midlife health's impact on years lived free from dementia.
Jacqui Hanley stated, "Rather than focusing only on the chances of developing dementia, this study asks a question that matters to people: how long can we expect to live free from dementia?"
Rather than focusing only on the chances of developing dementia, this study asks a question that matters to people: how long can we expect to live free from dementia?
Hanley added, "This approach gives a meaningful picture of how midlife health may shape the number of years we spend living free from dementia, while also recognising that high blood pressure, diabetes and smoking are linked to a higher likelihood of dementia as well as a greater risk of dying earlier from other conditions."
Diabetes damages the brain by impairing cell function, causing inflammation, and disrupting the clearance of toxic brain proteins.
Smoking damages blood vessels, inhibits blood flow, thickens blood, and increases stroke risk; all contribute to dementia's onset.
Josef Coresh emphasized, "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."
He further stated, "Hopefully, these results will encourage people to stop smoking and watch their vascular health closely from age 45 on."
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.
Experts believe nearly half of all dementia cases worldwide could be prevented or delayed.
Richard Oakley noted, "This study adds to growing evidence that looking after our heart health in midlife may help us live more years free from dementia."
Charities claim dementia was removed from official NHS planning guidance this year, reportedly signaling its deprioritization.
Participants without the three key risk factors lived approximately 30.1 years longer free of disease.
This starkly contrasts with 17 years for those burdened by all three risk factors.