Marta Iraola Iribarren/Euronews
People with good vascular health may gain extra dementia-free years, new research suggests.
Having normal blood pressure, no diabetes, and not smoking from age 48 to 68 are associated with nearly 13 additional years, on average, of dementia-free life, according to a new study.
Dementia is one of the fastest-growing health burdens worldwide. Every year, 10 million new cases are diagnosed globally, according to the World Health Organization, and that number is projected to surpass 150 million by 2050.
The rising toll has prompted researchers to focus on prevention and the modifiable lifestyle factors people can adopt in midlife for healthier ageing.
The findings, published in the journal Neurology Open Access, showed that maintaining good vascular health — defined by the absence of diabetes, hypertension, and smoking — during middle age directly influences the number of years a person can expect to live without developing dementia.
“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,” said study senior investigator Josef Coresh.
By analyzing data from over 12,000 participants, researchers found that individuals with diabetes, hypertension, or smoking habits experienced significantly shorter dementia-free life.
Participants with three midlife risk factors faced nearly three times higher hazard of developing dementia, compared to those with no risk factors.
Individuals with zero vascular risk factors at age 55 could expect to live an average of 30 years without dementia.
Those with one risk factor could expect 26 years without dementia, those with two had 21 years, and those with three had just over 17 years — meaning people with no risk factors lived roughly 13 years longer without cognitive impairment than those with all three conditions.
Sex differences also emerged. Women generally lived more years dementia-free than men; among those with three risk factors, for instance, women averaged 18 years compared to 16 years for men.
“Hopefully, these results will encourage people to stop smoking and watch their vascular health closely from age 48 on,” Coresh said.
