Nearly half of all dementia cases may be linked to modifiable risk factors, such as smoking and high blood pressure. A study conducted at Lund University explored how certain risk factors are associated with Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia—the two most common causes of dementia.

Dementia Risk Factors

The risk of developing dementia is partly determined by non-modifiable factors like age, gender, and genetics. However, there are also modifiable factors, including smoking, cardiovascular diseases, high blood lipid levels, physical inactivity, alcohol consumption, hearing loss, and high blood pressure. Dementia is a collection of symptoms that can arise from various disorders, so risk factors may differ depending on the underlying cause.

Study Design

About 500 people with an average age of 65 and no signs of cognitive impairment participated in the study. They were monitored over four years, with researchers assessing changes in the brain’s white matter—nerve fibers often damaged in vascular dementia. The study also tracked levels of beta-amyloid and tau proteins, which are linked to Alzheimer’s disease. The goal was to determine how modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors are related to changes in the brain over time.

Key Findings

Most of the modifiable risk factors studied—including smoking, cardiovascular diseases, high blood lipid levels, and high blood pressure—were associated with damage to the brain’s blood vessels. These factors were also linked to a faster accumulation of changes in white matter. Such damage impairs vascular function and leads to brain vessel injuries, which can ultimately result in vascular dementia.

The study also found possible links between certain risk factors and proteins involved in the development of Alzheimer’s disease. Diabetes was associated with increased accumulation of beta-amyloid, while people with a lower body mass index accumulated tau protein more rapidly. These findings require further research and confirmation in future studies.

The Importance of Prevention

Adopting healthier habits and addressing modifiable risk factors may help delay the onset of Alzheimer’s symptoms. This is especially important because many people with dementia experience several pathological processes in the brain at once, including vascular damage and changes related to Alzheimer’s disease. Improving vascular and metabolic health can be beneficial even for those at risk of Alzheimer’s, as it helps reduce the overall impact of multiple simultaneous changes in the brain.