A study on vascular health in midlife concluded that not smoking, having normal blood pressure, and not having diabetes is associated with nearly 13 more years of life without dementia. The research analyzed data from more than 12,000 participants and compared the progression of people without these risk factors with that of others who had all three, evaluated between ages 48 and 68.
People without any of the three risk factors at age 55 lived, on average, about 30 years without developing dementia. Those who had all three factors recorded just over 17 years without the disease, an approximate difference of 13 years. Those with only one factor had an average of 26 years without dementia, while participants with two factors stayed at 21 years.
Participants with hypertension, diabetes, and smoking habits faced a risk of developing dementia nearly three times higher than those who had none of these factors. The research also found differences between women and men: among people with all three risk factors, women lived on average 18 years without dementia, while men recorded 16 years.
One of the researchers argued that these factors should be avoided at this stage of life to preserve brain health. The study does not point to a formula for avoiding the disease, but it identifies an association between the absence of the three factors during midlife and more years of life without dementia.
