A landmark study has revealed that maintaining three key health markers during middle age could stave off dementia for close to 13 years.
The research, carried out by scientists at NYU Langone Health and published yesterday in the journal Neurology, identified normal blood pressure, the absence of type 2 diabetes, and not smoking between the ages of 45 and 65 as the critical factors.
Individuals free of all three risk factors enjoyed, on average, 30.1 additional years without cognitive decline. By contrast, those burdened with all three conditions managed just over 17 years — a striking gap of nearly 13 years.
The study also uncovered disparities along sex and racial lines, with women consistently living longer without dementia than men regardless of how many risk factors they carried.
The investigation drew on data from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study, a long-running
American research programme launched in 1986 that tracked participants from midlife into old age. Researchers examined 12,409 individuals, averaging 56 years of age, all of whom were dementia-free at the outset.
Each participant was evaluated for three vascular risk factors — elevated blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and tobacco use — then monitored over roughly three decades, with a mean follow-up period of 26 years.
Over that span, 3,008 participants went on to develop dementia, whilst 5,238 died without receiving such a diagnosis.
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The results showed a clear gradient, as those carrying a single risk factor averaged 26.3 dementia-free years, whilst individuals with two managed approximately 21 years.
Dr Josef Coresh, director of the Optimal Ageing Institute at NYU Langone and the study's senior investigator, stressed the urgency of acting in one's middle years.
"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 said.
"Hopefully, these results will encourage people to stop smoking and watch their vascular health closely from age 45 on."
Dr Jacqui Hanley, head of research funding at Alzheimer's Research UK, who played no part in the study, welcomed its approach. "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?" she said.
"These findings emphasise why it's so important to look after your heart health as well as your brain health."
The global dementia burden is projected to nearly treble, reaching 153 million cases by 2050. Experts maintain, however, that up to half of all cases could potentially be prevented or postponed.
Earlier studies have identified 14 modifiable risk factors — spanning from childhood through to later life — that, if properly addressed, might avert or delay as many as 45 per cent of dementia diagnoses.
The NYU Langone team noted that the three factors highlighted in their research "often emerge in midlife" and "exert lasting effects on neurodegenerative pathology," reinforcing the case for early detection and intervention.
Dr Hanley urged people to take sensible precautions, such as keeping physically active, avoiding cigarettes, and properly managing blood pressure and diabetes.
"While there is no guaranteed way to prevent dementia, research, including this study, suggests that addressing risk factors for poor cardiovascular health may also help reduce the risk of cognitive decline and dementia," she added.
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