High Biological Age May Raise Dementia and Stroke Risk

15 million people worldwide experience a stroke every year. Over 55 million people are currently living with dementia globally. With such alarming statistics, it’s important to adopt protective measures.

That said, a recent study has suggested that focusing on reducing your biological age may reduce your odds of dementia and stroke.

Biological age vs. Chronological age

Have you ever come across much older individuals that look half their age? They probably had a young biological age. 

Speaking to Medical News Today, Dr. Sandra Narayanan, a board-certified vascular neurologist and neuro-interventional surgeon, explained that chronological age focuses on the time that has passed since one’s birth. Biological age, however, describes “the more subtle physiological processes that influence how old or dysfunctional one’s cells and tissues are.”

Biological Age and Neurological Health

Advanced chronological age is a risk factor for many common neurological disorders. Yet, the association between neurological disorders and advanced biological age has yet to be understood.

Swedish researchers set out to better understand this relationship.

For the study, the researchers analyzed the data of 325,870 participants, aged 40 – 70, courtesy of the UK Biobank. The team calculated the biological age of each participant using 18 biomarkers that included measurements of:

• blood lipids
• lung function
• blood sugar
• blood pressure
• waist circumference
• red blood cell count
• lymphocytes.

The team then followed the participants for nine years. During the follow-up time frame, 1,397 participants developed dementia, and 2,515 experienced ischemic stroke. With this information, researchers checked for a correlation between biological age and a diagnosis of dementia or ischemic stroke.

Biological Aging May Lead To Dementia and Stroke

“If a person’s biological age is five years higher than their actual age, the person has a 40 percent higher risk of developing vascular dementia or suffering a stroke,” – Jonathan Mak, study co-leader 

Per the findings of the study, published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, advanced biological age was associated with an increased risk for all-cause dementia, vascular dementia, and ischemic stroke. There was also an increased risk for ALS, Alzheimer’s disease, and motor neuron disease (MND). 

Can reversing biological age protect neurological health?

Speaking to Medical News Today, study author and associate professor Sara Hägg, Ph.D., explained that their study emphasized the importance of staying healthy as long as possible to “maintain body functions and keep a low biological age is hence beneficial to avoid late-life diseases.”

That said, the study has its limitations. It cannot establish causality and only uses data from the UK Biobank, making it difficult to apply the results to all populations.

Now, while we await further research, you can improve your biological age while simultaneously reducing your risk for both dementia and stroke. 

How so?

Following these 8 habits can slow down biological aging by an average of six years.

References

• Mak JKL, McMurran CE, Hägg S, (2023), Clinical biomarker-based biological ageing and future risk of neurological disorders in the UK Biobank, Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry. doi: 10.1136/jnnp-2023-331917

• https://www.emro.who.int/health-topics/stroke-cerebrovascular-accident/index.html
• https://www.who.int/health-topics/dementia

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