Overview
- Researchers analyzed more than 5,000 U.S. adults from NHANES 1999–2018 across 13 established dementia risk factors and published the findings in Neurology.
- Each 100% rise above the poverty line was associated with a 9% lower likelihood of having an additional midlife risk factor.
- In people living below the poverty line, addressing vision loss could potentially mitigate about 21% of dementia cases and tackling social isolation about 20%.
- Higher income correlated with lower prevalence of most risks, with exceptions for obesity, high LDL cholesterol and traumatic brain injury.
- Authors and outside experts emphasize prevention opportunities and caution that the cross-sectional, self-reported data show associations rather than causation, with concerns about generalizing trial results from higher-income samples.