Nearly Half of Dementia Risk May Be Modifiable

Forget Me Not: Dementia can feel like a predetermined thing: you get it, or you don’t. But that’s not really the case. Researchers estimate that roughly 45% of dementia cases may be linked to potentially modifiable risk factors. And a recent study from Lund University offers another reminder that some of the things we do for our overall health may matter for our brains, too.

The Study: Researchers followed 494 cognitively unimpaired adults, average age 65, for about four years. They used MRI and PET scans to track white-matter hyperintensities — a marker of cerebrovascular damage — along with amyloid-beta and tau, two proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Smoking, high blood pressure, high blood lipids, and ischemic heart disease were associated with faster accumulation of white-matter hyperintensities. Researchers also found associations between diabetes and faster amyloid accumulation, while higher depression scores were linked to greater amyloid buildup.

The Takeaway: Taking care of our brains means taking care of our bodies, too. The broader evidence on dementia prevention points in a familiar direction: Don’t smoke, stay physically active, eat a balanced diet, and work with your doctor to manage blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar.

Keep in Mind: This was an observational study, so it can’t prove that changing any one factor will prevent dementia. It also tracked brain changes associated with dementia rather than dementia diagnoses themselves. And dementia has multiple causes; aside from modifiable risk factors, age and genetics still play an important role.