Dementia is a condition that slowly takes away a person’s memory, thinking, and ability to do everyday tasks.
It’s a tough illness, not just for the person who has it, but also for their family and friends.
While scientists know that family history and age can raise your risk of getting dementia, a new study brings some hopeful news: your lifestyle choices may actually help lower that risk—even if your genes put you at higher risk.
The study was led by Dr. Adrienne Tin and a team of researchers from the University of Mississippi Medical Center.
They followed more than 11,000 people from both European and African backgrounds for about 30 years. The goal was to find out whether healthy living could make a difference in who eventually developed dementia.
To measure this, they used a checklist called “Life’s Simple 7.” This is a list of seven easy-to-understand health goals created by the American Heart Association. The idea is that what’s good for your heart is also good for your brain.
These seven steps are: being physically active, eating healthy foods (like fruits and vegetables), maintaining a healthy weight, not smoking, keeping blood pressure at a good level, managing cholesterol, and keeping blood sugar low.
The results were encouraging. People with a high genetic risk of dementia who followed these healthy habits had a lower chance of getting the disease.
In the group of people with European roots, every extra healthy habit they followed was linked to a 9% drop in dementia risk. And those who stuck to most of the seven steps saw their risk fall by up to 43%. That’s a huge difference.
For people with African roots, the results also pointed in the same direction—healthy habits lowered the risk. However, the study had fewer participants from this group, which makes the findings less certain. Most of the African participants were from one region, so the study can’t yet say for sure that the same results would apply to all people of African descent.
Still, this research is an important step forward. It shows that even if you come from a family where dementia is common, you’re not helpless. You can take action. Choosing to live a healthy life could make a big difference for your brain later on.
Why does this matter? Right now, about 50 million people around the world are living with dementia. That number is expected to triple by the year 2050 if nothing changes. It’s a serious problem that affects millions of families, and there is still no cure.
This study, which was published in the journal Neurology, offers a message of hope. It reminds us that our daily choices—what we eat, how much we move, whether we smoke—can help protect our brain health over time.
So the next time you’re deciding whether to go for a walk or have a second helping of dessert, remember that these small decisions may play a role in your future. You may not be able to change your genes, but you can take steps today that could shape your tomorrow.
If you’re interested in learning more, there are other studies that explore how walking patterns may help identify different kinds of dementia and how common blood pressure medicines might lower your risk. This research is growing, and every new discovery brings us closer to understanding how to protect our brains—and our lives.
If you care about brain health ,please read studies about Vitamin B9 deficiency linked to higher dementia risk, and cranberries could help boost memory.
For more health information, please see recent studies about heartburn drugs that could increase risk of dementia, and results showing this MIND diet may protect your cognitive function, prevent dementia.
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