Living in a deprived area increases a person's chance of suffering from dementia.
People in deprived areas are more likely to develop dementia
Research conducted at Duke University in North Carolina has backed up long-held thoughts that poverty, low wages and a lack of education has caused higher rates of the brain condition in poor neighbourhoods.
The scientists explained that disadvantaged locations usually have shops that sell unhealthy food and are designed in a way that makes it difficult to exercise.
Crime and antisocial behaviour rates are also typically higher, leading to raised stress levels and ageing the brains of residents by three years.
Boffins had previously identified areas known as Blue Zones, where people lived longer and were protected from the disease, and wanted to see if the opposite effect was true.
Dr. Aaron Reuben, a clinical neuropsychologist who led the study, said: "A lot of individual choices, like what you eat, what you do for fun, or who you spend time with, are constrained by where you live.
"I wanted to understand if there was a geographic patterning to dementia the way there is to longevity.
"If you want to prevent dementia, and you're not asking someone about their neighbourhood, you're missing information that's important."