Black Adults Face a Higher Dementia Risk. These 3 Habits May Help.

Your brain’s future may hinge on three key health factors in middle age.

A study published Aug. 5 in the journal Neurology Open Access found that adults with normal blood pressure, no diabetes and no history of smoking between the ages of 45 and 65 lived dementia-free nearly 13 years longer than adults with all three risk factors.

“Our findings argue that people need to actively avert these factors in midlife as a strategy for preserving brain health for more than a decade,” said senior author Dr. Josef Coresh, director of the Optimal Aging Institute at NYU Langone in New York City.

“Discovering new ways to delay dementia is crucial with 42 percent of Americans at risk for developing the condition at any time after age 55,” he added in a news release.

His team followed more than 12,000 cognitively healthy people, who were, on average, 56 years old when the study began.

Participants with none of the risk factors lived 30 years dementia-free, compared with just 17 years for those with all three.

While the study does not prove that avoiding these risk factors prevents dementia, the findings highlight three important areas to focus on during midlife.

RELATED: 5 Tips to Live Fully with Early-Onset Dementia

1. Make sure your blood pressure stays at a healthy level.

High blood pressure can have an effect on blood vessels all over the body, including the ones that supply the brain, and it therefore may be very important to keep your blood pressure under control if you want to protect your brain as you get older. The American Heart Association states that around 58 percent of Black adults in the United States have high blood pressure.

Discuss your blood pressure and how often you should have it checked with your healthcare provider. When you have high blood pressure, you should take the prescribed medications and make the lifestyle changes suggested by your healthcare team to help protect your overall vascular and brain health.

Try these tips to keep your blood pressure in check:

• Make sure you know your figures; get your blood pressure checked from time to time and ask your healthcare provider what range is suitable for you.
• Look after it at home. When your provider suggests home monitoring, use a validated blood pressure monitor and keep a record of your readings to discuss them at your appointments.
• Be careful about the amount of sodium you take in. Since highly processed and packaged foods can be major sources of sodium, try to limit your consumption of them. If you can, select fresh or only slightly processed foods and use herbs and spices to season your meals instead.
• Include more potassium-rich foods. For example, bananas, leafy greens, beans, potatoes and avocados are sources of potassium, a mineral that helps in the regulation of blood pressure. However, if you have kidney disease or are taking certain medications, you should consult your healthcare provider before increasing your potassium intake.
• Make sure to move your body regularly; activities such as walking, dancing, cycling and swimming, as well as other physical exercises, can help to maintain the health of your heart and blood vessels.
• It is important to manage stress since chronic stress can affect blood pressure. You might try activities that help you relax, such as deep breathing, meditation, stretching, spending time outdoors, or spending time with people you enjoy.
• Take the medications exactly as prescribed. Even if you are feeling fine, do not stop or skip the medication if you have high blood pressure without first consulting your healthcare provider.
• You should not ignore repeated high readings. High blood pressure usually doesn’t show any symptoms, so it’s important to monitor it regularly.

2. Prevent or manage diabetes.

The study also identified diabetes as a major risk factor. Since high blood sugar levels over time can damage blood vessels and interfere with the body’s proper functioning, this may also affect brain health. Black American adults suffer a greater-than-average burden of type 2 diabetes. The Office of Minority Health states that the rate of diagnosis is about 24 percent higher and the rate of death is almost 78 percent higher than that of the white population.

A balanced diet, regular physical activity, keeping a healthy weight and attending all routine health screenings can all help to keep your blood sugar levels healthy. If you have diabetes or prediabetes, you should work with your healthcare provider to draw up a plan for managing your blood sugar.

Here are some ways to support healthy blood sugar levels:

• Have yourself screened and ask your healthcare provider if you should be tested for prediabetes or diabetes, especially since you have risk factors.
• Make sure your meals are well-balanced by combining vegetables, lean protein, whole grains or other high-fiber carbohydrates, and healthy fats.
• Select foods that are high in fiber. Foods such as beans, lentils, vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts and seeds can help increase the fiber content of your diet and aid in maintaining healthy blood sugar levels.
• Be careful about drinks that contain sugar. Soda, sweet tea, energy drinks and other sugar-sweetened beverages can contain a large amount of added sugar. As a simple, everyday alternative, you can drink water.
• Think about the amounts you eat. You don’t need to eliminate the foods you like most. If you are mindful of portion sizes and combine carbohydrates with protein or fiber, this will help make your meals more balanced.
• It’s important to stay physically active. Regular movement can help your body to use glucose for energy and aid in blood sugar control.
• Stop sitting for long periods. If you have a desk job or spend a lot of time sitting, you should get up from time to time to walk or stretch.
• Take your diabetes medications exactly as instructed. If you are suffering from diabetes, then consult with your healthcare team to find out what your blood sugar targets should be and to establish your treatment plan.
• Make sure you attend your routine appointments. Regular checkups can detect changes in blood sugar before they become more serious issues.

3. Don’t Smoke — or Make a Plan to Quit

Smoking is also a factor that can be modified, and it may have an effect on long-term brain health; if you do smoke, it is possible to gain health benefits by quitting at any age.

You don’t need to go at it alone if the idea of quitting seems overwhelming. Why not discuss with your healthcare provider the possibility of taking medications, using nicotine replacement therapies, receiving counseling, or considering any other measures that might make it easier to quit.

If you’re ready to quit, these strategies may help:

• Choose a date to quit. By picking a particular date, you can turn your aim into a definite plan.
• Make sure you are aware of your triggers. Notice the times when you usually reach for a cigarette, for example, when you are under stress, after eating, or when you are with other people, and plan some alternatives in advance.
• Ask for support and let your friends and family know that you’re quitting. It can also help to tell them how you want them to be able to help you.
• Have a discussion with your healthcare provider. Counseling, nicotine-replacement therapy and prescription medications may assist some people in managing their cravings and withdrawal symptoms.
• Remove reminders. Get rid of cigarettes, lighters and ashtrays from your home, car and other places where you typically smoke.
• Make a plan for when you have a craving. If you get a craving, then take a walk, drink some water, chew gum, practice deep breathing, or distract yourself until the need goes away.
• It’s not the end if you have a lapse. The fact that you smoked or had a setback doesn’t show that you’ve failed; instead, see it as a chance to work out what caused the lapse and modify your quit plan.
• Do not switch from cigarettes to another tobacco product without first getting professional advice. You should discuss with a healthcare professional the safest approach to quitting that is based on evidence.
• It never becomes too late; even after having smoked for many years, you can benefit from stopping smoking.

RELATED: Why Dementia Screening Could Be Important for Black Families

Protect Your Brain Starting in Midlife

Regardless of the number of risk factors they had, the women in the study stayed free from dementia longer than the men. Moreover, the study showed that white participants had more years free from dementia than Black participants, emphasizing the need to understand and tackle the differences in brain health and dementia risk among various populations.

“Hopefully, these results will encourage people to stop smoking and watch their vascular health closely from age 45 on,” Coresh said.

The takeaway? It’s never too early to start paying attention to the factors that can influence your health later in life. Keeping your blood pressure in check, managing blood sugar and avoiding smoking are three practical ways to support your overall health while potentially helping protect your brain for years to come.

It should be pointed out that these habits do not ensure protection against dementia; dementia risk is affected by a number of factors, such as age, genetics, other health conditions and lifestyle factors. You should discuss your specific risk factors with your healthcare provider and the measures appropriate for you.