Jump to full article: Medical News TODAY(UK), 2009-08-04
Intro: Middle aged people who smoke, have high blood pressure or diabetes are far more likely to develop dementia in later life, suggests research published ahead of print in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.
People should consider modifying their lifestyle in mid-life to avoid developing dementia, claims the US research.
Dementia is a growing public health problem affecting older people in developed countries. In the US, where the research took place, estimates show that one in six people older than 70 have dementia. Estimates are that the number of people with dementia will grow threefold by 2050, compared with 2000.
Previous studies have shown that the presence of cardiovascular risk factors including high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity and smoking increase the risk of developing subsequent dementia, but have often failed to show the relationship.
Researchers from the universities of Minnesota, North Carolina and John Hopkins and the University of Mississippi Medical Center studied more than 11,000 people aged 46-70 who were participants in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study in 1990-92.
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