--- title: "Two New Dementia Risk Factors Have Been Uncovered — And You Can Actually Do Something About Them" description: "The bad news: scientists have discovered two new dementia risk factors. The good news: these new risk factors are \"modifiable.\"" date: "2024-08-13" modified: "2024-08-13" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/two-new-dementia-risk-factors" categories: - "Brain" - "Health & Medicine" - "Neuroscience and Brain" tags: - "brain" - "dementia" - "health" - "neurological disease" --- # Two New Dementia Risk Factors Have Been Uncovered — And You Can Actually Do Something About Them ![The bad news: scientists have discovered two new dementia risk factors. The good news: these new risk factors are "modifiable."]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* The bad news: Scientists discovered two new dementia risk factors. The good news? These new risk factors are "modifiable," meaning you can mitigate (or even reverse) them. The research, conducted by scientists with The Lancet Commission and [published late last month in the *Lancet* journal](), comprises a systematic review of multiple studies to reveal that high cholesterol under 40 and untreated vision loss can both be added to the commission's running list of modifiable dementia risk factors. The commission has now identified a total of 14 pliable dementia-influencing factors, a list that also includes hypertension, smoking and excessive alcohol use, inactivity, less education, and social isolation, among others. And according to the commission's latest report, nearly *half* of all global dementia cases can be traced back to these 14 modifiable risk factors that (with the right resources) both individuals and policymakers may actually be able to do something about. "As people live longer, the number of people who live with dementia continues to rise," reads the Lancet research, "emphasizing the need to identify and implement prevention approaches." According to the study, the researchers' showed that instances of high LDL cholesterol were connected to seven percent of dementia cases; untreated vision loss in later life, meanwhile, was linked to two percent of dementia cases. And as Yale Medicine behavioral neurologist and neuropsychiatrist Arman Fesharaki-Zadeh (who was not involved in the research) [recently told *HuffPost*](), the additions of high cholesterol and vision loss make "mechanical sense." Regarding artery-clogging cholesterol, Fesharaki-Zadeh noted that "there are certain parts of the brain that are more vulnerable to damage," and that "these are the areas that are especially vulnerable to hardening of blood vessels." He added that the correlation between high cholesterol and the "hardening of blood vessels is quite high." In other words: blocked, hardened arteries could result in [damage]() to the brain, which could, in turn, result in neurodegeneration. It's a finding that also intersects with the commission's previous findings about traumatic brain injury (yet another noted dementia risk factor). As for vision loss? Vision, of course, is a primary sense; if your vision starts decline without some kind of mitigation, Fesharaki-Zadeh told *HuffPost*, you might stop doing cognition-supporting activities ranging from reading to spending time with friends and family — which, as noted above, is a risk factor for dementia in its own right. Dementia is complex, and in the grand scheme of things, science is still only starting to better understand neurodegenerative disease. We should also note that many dementia and Alzheimer's cases — particularly those rooted largely in genetics — might have little to do with the 14 modifiable risk factors listed by the Lancet Commission. The researchers also caveat that some of the associations seen in their research "might be only partly casual." Still, this latest research is just the latest to underscore the incredible malleability of the human brain and body both, not to mention the degree to which the different systems within our mind and body are very much connected. If anything? Maybe just take this as a reminder that taking care of your mind and body in any way you can [is always a good idea]() — and that brain health decline isn't always a case of biological determinism. "We have to fight neurologic nihilism," American Academy of Neurology fellow Glen R. Finney, who was also unaffiliated with the study, [told *CNN*]() of the commission's findings last month. "We can protect and help the brain and should!" "Although there are major gaps in our understanding of risk, action should not wait," the Lancet commission's paper adds, "because there are ways to reduce the chances of developing dementia, which benefit individuals, families, and society." **More on dementia:** [*Ozempic Linked to Significantly Reduced Dementia Risk*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()