Dementia risk factors: Avoiding these 3 things could delay symptoms for years, study finds

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FOX Local
Published August 8, 2026 9:54 AM CDT

New study finds that avoiding high blood pressure, diabetes and smoking could delay the onset of dementia by 13 years (Getty Images)

The Brief

    • Researchers at NYU Langone Health found that if you keep your blood pressure in check, avoid diabetes and don’t smoke from age 48-68, you could delay dementia by up to 13 years. 
    • The study followed more than 12,000 people for roughly 26 years. 
    • Participants with none of the three risk factors lived nearly 13 years longer without dementia than people with them.

A new study has identified three health factors that could delay dementia for up to 13 years. 

The study was led by researchers at NYU Langone Health and published Wednesday in the journal Neurology Open Access. 

Dementia risk factors

Big picture view:

According to the study, if you keep your blood pressure in check, avoid diabetes and don’t smoke from age 48-68, you could delay dementia by up to 13 years. 

What they're saying:

"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," Dr. Josef Coresh, a study author and founding director of the Optimal Aging Institute, said in a statement. "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." Dr. Coresh is also the Terry and Mel Karmazin Professor, Department of Population Health, at NYU Langone.

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By the numbers:

The study looked at 12,409 people with an average age of 56 who were free of dementia. Doctors assessed three risk factors – high blood pressure, diabetes and smoking – then followed them for about 26 years. In that time, 3,008 participants developed dementia and 5,238 people died without developing dementia. 

The people with no risk factors lived nearly 13 years longer without dementia than people with the three risk factors.

Other risk factors

Dig deeper:

The study also found that women lived longer without dementia than men, even if they had more risk factors, and Black participants developed dementia sooner than white participants. 

"These results suggest that vascular risk reduction may benefit all groups, but that certain populations, such as Black adults, may especially benefit from targeted prevention efforts," Coresh said. "Hopefully, these results will encourage people to stop smoking and watch their vascular health closely from age 48 on."

The study doesn’t prove that avoiding these risk factors will delay the onset of dementia, only that they appear to be associated with each other. 

The Source: This report includes information from an NYU Langoe-led study published in the journal Neurology Open Access.

Health