LONDON, Aug 8 — New European research has found that maintaining good cardiovascular health during midlife could help to also promote good brain health later on.

Carried out by researchers from the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research, France, and University College London, UK, the new study gathered data from 7,899 British men and women at age 50, when participants were all free of cardiovascular disease and dementia.

The researchers looked at a possible association between the participants’ results on the American Heart Association’s "Life Simple 7,” which gives a score of cardiovascular health, and their risk of dementia over the next 25 years.

The aim of the Life Simple 7 is to prevent the development of cardiovascular disease risk factors in order to prevent the risk of disease. It measures four behavioural metrics (smoking, diet, physical activity, body mass index) and three biological metrics (fasting glucose, blood cholesterol, blood pressure), to give a score which indicates poor cardiovascular health (a score of 0 to 6), an intermediate level of health (7 to 11), or optimal cardiovascular health (12 to 14).

Diagnoses of dementia later in life were identified using hospital, mental health services, and death registers.

The findings, published by The BMJ today, showed that after taking into account potentially influencing factors, adherence to the Life Simple 7 cardiovascular health recommendations at age 50 was associated with a lower risk of dementia later in life.

A higher cardiovascular health score at age 50 was also associated with higher whole brain and grey matter volumes in MRI scans 20 years later.

The team also found that even small improvements in cardiovascular risk factors at age 50 may reduce dementia risk.

The researchers note that as an observational study, the findings cannot show cause and effect. However, they believe the results suggest that improving cardiovascular health in middle age can promote cognitive health later in life. As dementia can start to develop 15 to 20 years before any symptoms appear, identifying factors which can be improved early in life to prevent its onset is important.

"Our findings suggest that the Life’s Simple 7, which comprises the cardiovascular health score, at age 50 may shape the risk of dementia in a synergistic manner,” say the authors. "Cardiovascular risk factors are modifiable, making them strategically important prevention targets. This study supports public health policies to improve cardiovascular health as early as age 50 to promote cognitive health,” they conclude. — AFP-Relaxnews