{
  "id": 282228,
  "title": "Common Health Risks You Can Change May Be Accelerating Dementia—Study Finds",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/07/common-health-risks-you-can-change-may-be-accelerating-dementia-study",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-08-07T20:46:53.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Newsweek",
    "slug": "newsweek",
    "url": "https://www.newsweek.com/common-health-risks-you-can-change-may-be-accelerating-dementia-study-finds-12297333"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Nearly half of dementia cases may stem from lifestyle and health choices, a new Swedish study suggests. Researchers from Lund University found common risks like smoking, high blood pressure, and heart disease are linked to brain damage seen in vascular dementia. By monitoring nearly 500 adults aged 65 and older without cognitive impairment at the study's start, the team tracked white matter changes in the brain, key to vascular dementia, alongside Alzheimer's-related proteins. Most modifiable risks, including diabetes and lower BMI, correlated with faster white matter alterations. Sebastian Palmqvist, a study author, highlighted how prior research overlooked how individual risk factors impact distinct brain pathologies. While age, gender, and genetics remain major contributors, the study underscores the significant impact of lifestyle choices on brain health, offering hope that managing these risks could prevent multiple forms of dementia from developing. Experts agree that focusing on vascular health is crucial, as conditions like high blood pressure and smoking affect both the heart and brain.",
  "summary": "A recent study conducted by researchers at Sweden's Lund University suggests that nearly half of all dementia cases may be linked to modifiable risk factors, such as smoking, high blood pressure, heart disease, and elevated blood lipids. The research, which tracked nearly 500 individuals aged 65 and above over a four-year period, found that these common health risks are strongly associated with the brain damage characteristic of vascular dementia. The study highlights the potential benefits of managing these modifiable factors in delaying multiple forms of brain deterioration, even in individuals without initial cognitive decline signs. The findings emphasize the importance of lifestyle choices in mitigating brain damage and suggest that addressing vascular and metabolic risks could simultaneously reduce the effects of various brain changes.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}