New Study Examines Alzheimer's Disease Risk Factors in Early Adulthood

The health of your brain decades from now may be determined by the choices you made in your 20s and 30s.

A recent study is among the first to examine Alzheimer's Disease risk factors in a younger cohort of individuals aged 24 to 44. The study utilized the Cardiovascular Risk Factors, Aging, and Incidence of Dementia (CAIDE) score which is calculated based on the integration of social, behavioral, and biological risks including education, sex, age, cholesterol levels, blood pressure, body mass index, and physical activity. It found that a higher CAIDE score was associated with lower cognitive function.

The findings indicate that cardiovascular, immune, and blood-based biomarkers may be associated with critical measures of cognitive function decades before the clinical onset of Alzheimer’s Disease, with some associations becoming more prominent as early as ages 33 - 44.

This suggests that the seeds of future brain health are planted far earlier than we once thought.

In your 20s and 30s, your brain is like fertile soil. Your genetic predispositions are just a few dormant seeds. The most powerful influence on what grows is the quality of the soil you maintain - your blood pressure, diet, and exercise. It's not until decades later that the genetic seeds begin to sprout, their growth heavily influenced by the environment you've cultivated.