Development of diseases such as heart disease and diabetes before the age of 55 could increase the chance of having dementia in later life, a new study suggests.
Battle or the onset of mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression between 55 and 70 could also increase the risk twice, according to research.
Experts at the University of Oxford said up to 80 percent of dementia patients suffer from two or more chronic health conditions, but there is a “lack of understanding” when it comes to specific diseases, the beginning of the beginning and connection to dementia.
They identified “critical time windows” where certain diseases pose the greatest risk to patients.
For the study published in brain communication, researchers analyzed data from 282,712 people who used the British Biobank and looked at patterns for 46 chronic health conditions.
They found that heart disease such as heart disease and atrial fibrillation as well as diabetes, before 55 years were most strongly linked to dementia risk.
From 55 to 70 years, however, mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression as well as conditions as conditions as a stroke increased the risk of dementia twice.
Sana Suri, associate professor and Oxford Brain Sciences Senior Fellow, said: “Although we knew multimorbidity increased the risk of dementia, it was unclear which combinations of health conditions had the most influence and in what order.
“This study has identified how specific diseases tend to exist with each other, and also the critical time windows where they could pose the greatest risk.”
Elsewhere, the study suggests that people who have conditions such as heart disease and diabetes in the Middle Ages, followed by conditions, such as stroke and mental health disorders, were the greatest risk of developing dementia.
Mrs. Suri said that the presence of other diseases should be taken into account when estimating a person’s risk of developing dementia, and could help develop strategies aimed at reducing the risk on certain points in life.
She added: “This study identified the relationships between multimorbidity and dementia risk, but we need to understand more about why this is happening.
“We also have to try to repeat the study in more different groups of people to ensure that the results are representative of the population.
“Future studies could investigate whether the efforts to manage or prevent cardiovascular problems in early to mid-life, followed by mental health and neurological disorders when people are in the fifties and sixties can reduce the risk of dementia.”