Study Reveals 7 Simple Health Factors That May Lower Your Risk Of Dementia

Keeping your brain sharp as you age goes far beyond just pouring through crossword puzzles. While genetics play a big role, there are also a number of actionable strategies you can take to offer support. In fact, a new study from Neurology suggests there are seven health factors that may affect the development of dementia, specifically, and it's never too early to start thinking about each one of them.

Looking at 8,823 European Americans and 2,738 Black Americans over the course of 30 years, the study rated each participant on a scale of 0 to 14 in the above categories to determine the extent of their healthy habits in combination with their genetic risk of developing dementia. Based on their calculated risk scores, the participants were then broken into groups with those at a corresponding risk level.

While this study reveals that there are factors within your control that may reduce your risk of dementia, it also clearly states that this may not be applicable to those that are highly genetically predisposed to this condition. Ultimately, more research is needed on the subject.

Additionally, the study recognizes that this is still a relatively small test group, and in order to more effectively determine these habits' effect on lowering dementia risk, a larger sample size would be needed with increasingly diverse populations.