Three common lifestyle habits could dramatically increase a person’s likelihood of developing dementia, a new study finds.
A Dutch research team found the smoking or eating diets high in cholesterol or trans fats can increase someone’s likelihood of developing dementia by up to 45 percent.
Having high blood pressure can especially be a problem, increasing the likelihood of dementia by up to 66 percent.
Dementia is a common and crippling condition that many Americans face in older age, though there are not many known effective treatments to it.
A Dutch research team found that high blood pressure and smoking can significantly increase a person’s likelihood of developing dementia. (File Photo)
Eating a high sodium diet is a common cause of hypertension, high blood pressure, among Americans. Hypertension can increase likelihood of dementia by up to 66%. (File Photo)
Researchers gathered data from 4,164 individuals with an average age of 59.
Each participant of the study took a test and were given a score based on their risk of developing dementia based on a variety of lifestyle factors.
They were also given tests to judge their cognitive fitness.
The research team also performed brain scans on participants to find signs of cerebral small vessel disease, often an early sign of dementia.
Each piece of data was combined to find which habits were most likely to contribute towards the development of dementia.
High blood pressure is the condition that contributes the most towards dementia, increasing the likelihood by up to 66 percent.
Those who suffer from high blood pressure specifically between the ages of 30 to 50 are especially at risk.
Smoking can also cause a 45 percent increase in likelihood of developing dementia.
Eating a diet that is high in saturated or trans fats can also increase the likelihood someone develops the condition.
High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a problem that effects 45 percent of Americans, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Only a quarter of Americans with hypertension are actually considered to have their condition under control.
One common cause of the condition is a diet that is high in sodium.
Cases of the condition are especially concentrated in the U.S. south, where states like Alabama, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Tennessee have over a third of their population suffering from the condition.
Smoking can increase a person’s likelihood of dementia by up to 45%, the researchers found. (File Photo)
Previous research finds that hypertension can cause plaques to form on the brain that can often cause dementia.
Smoking is a well known potential cause of dementia as well – along with many other conditions.
A review by Lancet of 37 studies found that smokers were somewhere between 30 to 40 percent more likely to develop the condition.
The CDC reports that five million adults had dementia in 2014, and that number is projected to reach 14 million by 2060.
The condition often appears in people over the age of 65, and includes loss of memory, concentration and deteriorated reasoning skills, among others.
Alzheimer’s, a neurological disease that causes the brain to start shrinking, is the most common cause of dementia.
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