Dementia Risk Factors Change With Age Everyday Health MenuNewslettersSearch Dementia News Dementia Risk Factors Change With AgeHigh blood pressure and diabetes, among the biggest risk factors for dementia in middle age, aren’t the best predictors in some older adults, a study suggests. By Lisa RapaportMay 31, 2022Fact-CheckedFor people in their seventies, the biggest predictors of dementia risk were stroke and diabetes.AlamyThe risk factors for developing dementia change as we age, according to a study that suggests people may need to watch out for different things as they reach their sixties and seventies. For the analysis, researchers examined data on 4,899 dementia-free adults who were part of the Framingham Heart Study at age 55, including 2,386 people who still didn’t have dementia by the time they reached their eighties. The Framingham study was begun in 1948 to examine cardiovascular disease risk factors over multiple generations. At age 55, people who had diabetes were more than 4 times more likely to develop dementia in the future, making this the best predictor of cognitive decline, according to study results published May 18 in Neurology. At this age, each 10-point increase in systolic blood pressure — the “top number” that indicates how much pressure blood exerts against artery walls when the heart beats — was associated with a roughly 12 percent increase in the future risk of dementia. By age 65, however, the biggest predictor for developing dementia over the next decade wasn’t diabetes or high blood pressure. For this age group, people who had a history of cardiovascular disease, excluding strokes, were roughly twice as likely to develop dementia down the line. Stroke and diabetes were the biggest predictors of dementia risk for people in their seventies, both associated with at least double the risk. While these were also the biggest risk factors for octogenarians, people in their eighties also had a reduced dementia risk if they took medication to lower their blood pressure. “These findings can help us to more accurately predict a person’s future risk of developing dementia and make individualized recommendations on lifestyle changes and risk factor control to help reduce their risk of dementia later on,” lead study author Emer R. McGrath, MBBCh, PhD, of National University of Ireland in Galway, said in a statement. One limitation of the study is that most participants were white, and it’s possible that risk factors might look different among people from other racial or ethnic groups. Compared with white people, the risk of dementia is roughly twice as high for Black individuals and 50 percent greater for Hispanic people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Many people can live to a ripe old age without developing dementia at all, the CDC notes. Advanced age is the strongest predictor of dementia, along with having parents or siblings with the condition. Several risk factors for dementia identified in the study — including diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease — may be prevented or treated to help minimize future dementia risk, researchers note. NEWSLETTERS Sign up for our Healthy Living Newsletter SubscribeBy subscribing you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. 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