2 weeks Ago By Nina Agrawal
New research has identified that affect your risk of stroke, dementia and late-life depression, suggesting that a number of lifestyle changes could simultaneously lower the risk of all three. Though they may appear unrelated, people who have dementia or depression or who experience a stroke also often end up having , said Dr. Sanjula Singh, a principal investigator at the Brain Care Labs at Massachusetts General Hospital and the lead author of the study.
That’s because they may share underlying damage to small blood vessels in the brain, experts said. Some of the risk factors , including , appear to cause this kind of damage. Research suggests that at least , 40 percent and 35 percent of cases could be prevented or slowed by controlling risk factors.
“Those are striking numbers,” said Dr. Stephanie Collier, director of education in the division of geriatric psychiatry at McLean Hospital in Massachusetts. “If you can really optimize the lifestyle pieces or the modifiable pieces, then you’re at such a higher likelihood of living life without disability.
” Often, the risk factors for these diseases are interconnected, and addressing one — for example, getting more exercise by going for routine — can also help you address others, like excess weight and social isolation. “If you’re starting to work on one of them, very often you’re actually improving multiple at the same time,” Dr. Singh said.
“That’s a great way to start.” We are having trouble retrieving the article content. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.
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