Exciting study results were just released by the Journal of the American Medical Association. This study assessed cardiovascular health in older adults and sought to find an association between cardiovascular health and risk of dementia.

The results, published Tuesday, is a clear message to health care professionals and people with diabetes alike.

Focus on cardiovascular fitness for the sake of preserving cognitive health, experts said.

Cardiovascular health is commonly linked to chronic diseases of the body. However, taking care of cardio vascular health seems to have positive affects on brain health.

The study included 6,626 individuals aged 65 or older from various areas in France. Their scores of cardiovascular health were assessed using seven measures: diet, exercise, weight management, smoking status, blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol. The subjects were given, “a score of 0,1, or 2 for each of the categories to reflect whether their compliance with the measures were poor, intermediate, or optimal.”

Results were compelling, “6.5% of study participants had optimal measurements for at least five of the seven categories.” With each additional measure met at optimal levels, “the risk of dementia fell by about 10%.” The study also took place over 8.5 years in which 745 of the 6,626 subjects were diagnosed with dementia. 

Among the individuals with the lowest scores for cardiovascular health, risk for dementia increased “at a rate of 13.3 cases per 100 people.”  Compared to those with the highest scores for cardiovascular health had much lower rates at 7.1 cases per 100 people. These results should encourage physicians and other medical professionals to understand and teach the importance of cardiovascular health to preserve cognitive function in their patients.

For more information on cardiovascular health and cognitive function, read the official study Association of Cardiovascular health level in older age with cognitive decline and incident dementia.

A summarized version by the Los Angeles Times may be accessed at The more you do to promote your cardiovascular health, the lower your risk of dementia.

Contributed by Sofia Sepulveda