US News: Early Onset Heart Disease Is Key Factor in Later-Life Dementia

Minding your heart health when you’re young could spare your brain from dementia decades later, new research confirms.

Chinese researchers looked at data on more than 450,000 older Britons. They found that people who’d already been in poor cardiovascular health before they reached the age of 45 had a 25% higher odds of developing dementia, compared to those with better heart heath.

“What surprised us most was the linear relationship between age of coronary heart disease onset and dementia,” said senior study author Fanfan Zheng.

“This shows the huge detrimental influence of premature coronary heart disease on brain health,” added Zheng, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College in Beijing.