Three factors in midlife can delay the onset of dementia by 13 years
Adults who at an average age of 56 did not smoke and were free of diabetes and high blood pressure went on to live around 13 more years without dementia than those carrying those risks in midlife. The finding comes from more than 12,000 US adults tracked for 26 years on average, about a quarter of whom eventually developed dementia. All three risk factors damage blood vessels and stoke inflammation in the brain, harming the neurons behind memory and learning. It is an association rather than proof, but it puts a striking figure on what midlife health may buy you later.
What it shows: Reported by New Scientist (health) and not verified by us: we could not trace this story to a published paper, so treat it as news rather than evidence we have checked.