What Raises Your Risk of Dementia and What May Protect You
Here’s some good news to start with: dementia is not a normal part of getting older. Many people live into their 90s and beyond with their memory and thinking intact. Scientists at the National Institute on Aging are studying why some people develop dementia and others don’t, and what all of us can do to help protect our brains.
Risk Factors and Protective Factors: What’s the Difference?
A risk factor is anything that raises your chances of developing a disease. A protective factor is anything that lowers those chances. Here’s the key thing to remember: having a risk factor does not mean you will get dementia, and avoiding every risk factor is no guarantee you won’t. It’s about tilting the odds in your favor, not certainty.
Things We Can’t Change
Some risk factors are simply out of our hands:
