Dementia is considered a disease of old age. However, the course could be set much earlier than previously assumed. Researchers from Leipzig University's Faculty of Medicine have discovered that risk factors for dementia are already linked to differences in mental capacity in young adults.
For their study, published in the journal "Alzheimer's & Dementia", they used data from almost 150,000 people from the nationwide NAKO health study. They calculated the so-called LIBRA score for each person. The index summarizes various known risk factors for dementia. These include smoking, lack of exercise, depression and cardiovascular disease. The higher the LIBRA score, the poorer the mental performance - at any age.
Social inequality additionally increases the risk
The study also revealed another uncomfortable finding. Those with less money or education have a higher risk of dementia on average. Women with a low socio-economic status, i.e. women who live in financially or socially difficult circumstances, were particularly affected.
There were also differences between men and women. On average, men had less favorable risk values. "Our results clearly show that the risk of dementia is not only linked to individual factors," says researcher Felix Wittmann. "If we don't pay more attention to social inequalities, we run the risk as a society that the most vulnerable groups will benefit the least from important risk reduction."
The study also closes an important research gap. Until now, the LIBRA index has mainly been studied for people aged 40 and over. The Leipzig results now show that correlations between dementia risks and mental performance can already be demonstrated in 20 to 39-year-olds. The researchers' message: If you want to protect your brain health in old age, you shouldn't wait until you retire to start. Many crucial decisions are apparently made decades earlier.
Original publication in Alzheimer's & Dementia:
Associations of the Lifestyle for Brain Health (LIBRA) index with cognitive functioning across adulthood: Variation by sex and socioeconomic status in the German National Cohort (NAKO).
