New Studies Show That Bad Health In Teens Raises Risk Of Dementia

Everyday decisions we make in our teens and early adulthood have an impact on the likelihood of suffering from cognitive decline and conditions like dementia later in life.

Three new studies, presented concurrently at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference this week, have each shown evidence that lifestyle behaviors, health choices and even education impact the risk of developing cognitive illnesses when we are older.

The new research highlighted how a lack of access to high-quality education at an early age was significantly connected to the development of cognitive issues and conditions like dementia and Alzheimer’s in later life. So too was being overweight during early adulthood, as well as having high blood pressure, diabetes and two or more heart health risk factors in the formative years, 20s and midlife.

All of those risk factors are most likely to impact low-income people of color, said Maria Carillo, the chief science officer for the Alzheimer’s Association, whose conference saw the new research presented.

“We’ve known for quite a while that African Americans are two times more likely, and Latinos are one and a half times more likely than their White counterparts to have Alzheimer’s or related dementia,” Carillo told CNN.

“But what we found in these studies is that having those risks in adolescence means they actually stay with you over time. That’s an important thing to highlight, especially right now, when we are thinking about those comorbidities (risk factors) that people who are most impacted by the Covid-19 virus seem to have,” she continued.

“It’s very rare to find a study that follows individuals across early adolescence to middle age, and then as seniors,” Carillo also said. “So that’s really why we wanted to highlight this. We also want to think about how we counteract this trend, because these are behaviors that are modifiable.”

In two of the three studies, the risk of developing dementia in old age was explored in teens and those in their 20s that had a higher body-mass index (BMI) or one or more heart disease risk factors.

The other study collated and analyzed data on more than 700 African Americans during their teenage years, their young adulthood and midlife. It was found that those suffering from heart-related conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure in younger life were heavily associated with significantly worse cognitive health when older. The statement rang true throughout the study, regardless of age, gender and education.

It is already known that African Americans generally have more heart risk factors and in turn a higher risk of developing cardiovascular diseases than other racial and ethnic groups in the US. Because of this and the results of the study, the authors recommended taking preventative measures beginning in adolescence, rather than targeting risk factors in midlife and beyond.

One of the studies also analyzed data on more than 2,400 men and women aged 65 and older who are enrolled in the Washington Heights/Inwood Columbia Aging Project. The project is a long-term, community-based study of dementia that follows thousands of elderly people for a period of up to 50 years. As many variables as possible are tracked, with a particular highlight on education and the quality of education received.

The study’s analysis concluded that black men and women who received a lower standard of education were at a higher risk of a rapid decline in memory, language and cognitive performance in later life. Conversely, participation in higher-quality schools was associated by the same study with improved language and memory performance, as well as a decreased risk of developing dementia.

Conversely, attendance at schools that are perceived as higher quality was linked with better language and memory performance and a lower risk of dementia. Carillo explained this by claiming that higher education creates a ‘cognitive reserve’ that enables the brain to stay healthier for longer than someone who has had less access to quality education.

“Imagine you have a tree with amazing branches and complex leaf structures and a storm comes by and blows really hard,” Carillo said. “It will lose less leaves and branches. It’ll still stay full.

“And that’s exactly what our brain is – just this amazing architecture of nervous tissue and connections,” she said. “The more you learn, the more connections you have and the more you can afford to lose a little and get trimmed, or pruned as we age.”

“I’m Mexican American. I grew up in Chicago, inner city, with parents who did not speak English,” Carillo said. “I’m glad I had that experience, but I also can tell you that those social determinants of health are really meaningful in our communities.

“Not having access to good health care, not having access to information about healthier foods or choices that we make is something that is very real,” she said.