A 20-year study of more than 10,000 women has revealed seven things which actually reduce dementia risk. Seven healthy lifestyle choices including regular exercise, watching weight, abstaining from smoking and maintaining healthy blood pressure can help reduce the risk of dementia, the study found.
The seven cardiovascular and brain health factors - known as Life’s Simple 7 - also included a healthy diet, having low blood sugar and controlling cholesterol levels. The 20-year study of 13,720 women in the United States showed a collective increase in 'Simple Seven' scores led to a decrease of up to six per cent in the risk of developing dementia.
The study's authors hope the health tips can help people ward off dementia in later life by taking action in middle age. The researchers, from the American Academy of Neurology, studied the group who had an average age of 54 at the beginning of the study.
Seven health factors, known as the American Heart Association’s Life’s Simple 7, were identified. Participants were given a score of zero for poor or intermediate health and one point for ideal health for each of the seven health factors - amounting to a possible total score of seven.
The average score was shown to be 4.3 out of seven at the start of the study, and 4.2 ten years later. After 20 years, the researchers identified that 1,771 of the group - or 13 per cent - had developed dementia. Adjusting their data for factors such as age and education, the research team found that for every increase of one point in a participant's total score, their risk of dementia decreased by six per cent.
Dr Pamela Rist, of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, highlighted the importance of taking preventative measures against dementia. Dr Rist, who is also a member of the American Academy of Neurology, said: "Since we now know that dementia can begin in the brain decades before diagnosis, it’s important that we learn more about how your habits in middle age can affect your risk of dementia in old age.
"The good news is that making healthy lifestyle choices in middle age may lead to a decreased risk of dementia later in life.” Despite the success of their ground-breaking research, the study's authors did also admit to limitations in their work, such as their being unable to identify how factors such as quitting smoking influenced the risk of dementia in later life.
But Dr Rist added: “It can be empowering for people to know that by taking steps such as exercising for half an hour a day, or keeping their blood pressure under control, they can reduce their risk of dementia."
