Scientists have announced the seven keys that can slash the risk of dementia – if they are adopted in middle-age.
Scientists have announced the seven keys that can slash the risk of dementia – if they are adopted in middle-age
Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, tracked nearly 14,000 women in their 50s for 20 years and came to the conclusion several healthy-living habits were vital to reduce the chance of brain decline by around 6 percent.
The seven factors are being active, eating healthily, maintaining a healthy weight, not smoking, having normal blood pressure, controlling cholesterol levels and having low blood sugar levels.
Dr Pamela Rist, an assistant professor from Brigham and Women’s Hospital who led the research, said about the findings: “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.
“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.”
The study is due to be presented in April at the American Academy of Neurology’s 75th annual meeting to be held in Boston.
It involved the tracking of 13,720 women with an average age of 54 at the start of the research.
They found 1,771 participants –13 percent of those involved – had developed dementia at the end of the 20-year study.
For those who had higher scores in the seven lifestyle habits, the chances of having dementia fell by up to six percent.
A separate study has also found getting less than seven hours sleep a night increases the risk of dementia in later life.