A new study has found that avoiding three health factors may delay the risk of developing dementia by about 13 years. The study, which was published in the journal Neurology Open Access, found that avoiding type 2 diabetes, smoking, and high blood pressure can significantly reduce the risk of dementia.

Key Findings

The study, which followed over 12,400 adults for a median period of 26 years, found that participants who had none of the three health risks were more likely to remain dementia-free. In fact, having none of the three risk factors was linked with 30.1 dementia-free years, compared with 17.5 years among those who had all three health risks.

According to Dr. Josef Coresh, senior author of the study, avoiding these health factors can be a powerful way to reduce the risk of dementia. "That's relatively easy for clinicians to discuss and patients to understand," Coresh said. "For patients, knowing how many more 'good years' they can get by making certain lifestyle changes can be more motivating than simply knowing a percentage risk for dementia."

Reducing Risk Factors

So, how can individuals reduce their risk of developing dementia? According to experts, managing risk factors such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and smoking is crucial. This can be achieved through a combination of lifestyle changes, including a healthy diet, regular exercise, and not smoking.

Cardiologist Dr. Andrew Freeman noted that the study's findings are "really exciting, and yet it also still calls to action that we need to do a lot more to get people living healthily." Freeman emphasized the importance of adopting a healthy lifestyle, including a lower-fat, plant-based diet and regular exercise.

Dr. Sanjula Singh, an assistant professor in neurology at Harvard Medical School, also highlighted the importance of managing risk factors. "View the results as an important estimate rather than the exact prediction for every individual," Singh said.

Original reporting: KTVZ (Central Oregon) — read the source article.