In the latest installment of “What’s Good For the Heart is Good for the Brain,” THIS PAPER from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study was recently published showing the association of vascular risk factors in midlife with “years of being dementia-free.” And although the results were unsurprising, I think the study is at least a little more helpful than articles about Cannibalism Being a Bad Idea, for instance.

 “Vascular risk factors” were defined as diabetes, hypertension, and smoking, and over 12,000 people aged 55 and up were categorized as having zero, one, two, or three of these risk factors.  The results were as follows:

-People with ZERO risk factors had, on average, 30.1 years of dementia-free survival.

-People with ONE risk factor had, on average, 26.3 years of dementia-free survival.

-People with TWO risk factors had, on average, 21 years of dementia-free survival.

–People with THREE risk factors had a 269% greater chance of developing dementia along with an average of only 17.5 years of dementia-survival. 

So this study doesn’t really get into the Lipid Neighborhood, but you can listen to me discuss that topic as it relates to Alzheimer’s Disease on THIS PODCAST.  However, it does reinforce the critical importance of the metabolic Home Security System when it comes to brain health as we all attempt to “add life to our years”😊