Poor Health in Teens and 20s Raises Risk of Dementia Later, Studies Say

Three new studies presented at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference 2020 indicate that poor education and lifestyle behaviors in teenage years and our 20s elevate the risk of cognitive decline and dementia later, reports CNN . Two studies considered the impact of higher body-mass index (BMI) or heart disease risk factors in the teens and 20s. One examined data on more than 700 African Americans in adolescence, young adulthood, and midlife and discovered that heart-related conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes was associated with significantly worse late-life cognition. The second analyzed the impact of BMI at age 20 on the risk for later-life dementia for more than 5,000 men and women. Women overweight at age 20 raised the risk of dementia 1.8 times, while clinical obesity heightened the risk 2.5 times compared to 20-year-old women with normal weight. Men who were obese at age 20 had a 2.5 times higher risk for dementia. The third study considered educational and health data on over 2,400 black and white men and women 65 or older, and learned that black men and women who attended school in states with lower quality educational standards undergo a more rapid decline in memory and language in later life. Higher-quality education in childhood was associated with better language and memory performance, and lower risk of dementia later.