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Avoiding these 3 things during midlife could ward off dementia
KTVU • • health
Key Points:
- A long-term NYU Langone Health study found that maintaining healthy blood pressure, avoiding diabetes, and not smoking between ages 48 and 68 can significantly delay the onset of dementia and extend dementia-free years by nearly 13 years.
- The study analyzed data from 12,409 participants over an average of 26 years, revealing that these three vascular risk factors accelerate dementia onset and reduce dementia-free lifespan.
- Women and white participants tended to live longer without dementia compared to men and Black participants, highlighting potential benefits of targeted prevention efforts for specific populations.
- Researchers emphasized the study shows an association rather than causation, noting risk factors were only assessed once and may have changed over time.
- With dementia cases expected to rise sharply by 2060, the findings underscore the importance of midlife vascular health management to potentially delay dementia and improve both cardiovascular and cognitive outcomes.
