In a new study, researchers found that those who had better scores on standard metrics of heart health in midlife, especially for behavioral factors such as smoking, had a lower risk of dementia later in life.
The research was conducted by a team at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden.
Previous research suggests that efforts to address modifiable risk factors, such as behaviors that impact heart health, could reduce the global number of people with dementia by up to one third.
However, there is a lack of evidence on links between the risk of late-life dementia and scores on standard heart health metrics in midlife and late-life.
To gain further clarity on the late-life risk of dementia, the team analyzed data on 1,449 participants in the Finnish Cardiovascular Risk Factors, Aging, and Dementia study.
Participants’ heart health was evaluated from midlife to late-life according to six factors classified as three behavioral (smoking status, physical activity, and body mass index) and three biological factors (fasting plasma glucose, total cholesterol, and blood pressure).
Dementia was diagnosed in 61 people in the first follow-up, and additional 47 people in the second.
The researchers found that participants with intermediate or ideal heart health scores from midlife onwards, especially for behavioral factors, had a lower risk of dementia later in life than participants with poor scores.
There was no strong overall association between heart health scores measured in late life and the risk of dementia.
However, when looking specifically at biological factors, ideal scores in late life were actually linked to a greater risk of dementia.
The authors note that this could be because some biological hallmarks of dementia might overlap with “ideal” scores on these factors, such as lower blood pressure and lower cholesterol.
They also note that the major limitations of this study include the lack of data on diet and midlife plasma glucose and the high rate of attrition.
These findings suggest that maintaining lifelong cardiovascular health, particularly in the areas of smoking, exercise, and body mass index, could reduce dementia risk later in life.
One author of the study is Yajun Liang.
The study is published in PLoS Med.
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