New study reveals: 3 risk factors that harm heart and brain health

A new study conducted by researchers at the NYU Langone Medical Center in the USA and published in the medical journal Neurology has found that controlling three specific risk factors in middle age is significantly associated with more years lived without dementia. The study began in 1986, and experts have monitored the health of thousands of Americans over several decades.

The sample consisted of 12,409 participants with an average age of 56 at the start of the study. None of them suffered from dementia at the beginning of the observation period. The researchers focused on three key risk factors: high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and smoking. The participants were followed for an average of 26 years. By the end of the study, 3,008 participants had been diagnosed with dementia, while 5,238 had passed away without developing the condition.

The researchers concluded that the fewer the risk factors, the higher the number of years lived without dementia. Participants who had none of the three risk factors lived an average of 30.1 more years without dementia.

In contrast, participants with one risk factor enjoyed about 26.3 years of life without dementia, while those with two risk factors lived about 21 years without the disease. It was also found that those suffering from all three risk factors lived just over 17 years without dementia. Consequently, the gap between the two extreme groups approached 13 years.

The study also revealed that women lived more years without dementia compared to men, regardless of the number of risk factors present. Furthermore, white participants lived more years without dementia compared to black participants, a finding that warrants further investigation. The researchers explained that high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and smoking have long been considered key risk factors for cardiovascular disease, and recent evidence increasingly confirms their detrimental impact on brain health as well.