A recent study identified two new risk factors for dementia: untreated vision loss and high levels of LDL cholesterol.
The study, published July 31 in The Lancet, involved researchers from University College London (UK) who analyzed 14 prospective cohort studies with roughly 6.2 million older adults who were cognitively intact at baseline. Over 14 years, more than 171,800 developed dementia.
Researchers found that vision loss and high cholesterol were associated with a greater chance of developing dementia.
These two risk factors were added to the 12 previously identified before 2020: hearing loss, lower education, smoking, hypertension, obesity, physical inactivity, depression, diabetes, excessive alcohol consumptions, air pollution, traumatic brain injury and social isolation.