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Many medical conditions can be mitigated or avoided entirely through lifestyle choices. Not smoking, for instance, clearly reduces the risk of contracting lung cancer or emphysema. A recent study has provided some good news regarding the risk of dementia as we age. Dr. Gregory Poland is the president of the Atria Research Institute in New York and studies vaccines for the Mayo Clinic; he appeared on 710 WOR’s Mendte in the Morning program to say that a few common-sense steps now can cut the risk of dementia later.
“It tells us that there’s a simple equation,” Dr. Poland told host Larry Mendte. “Vascular health is your brain health. So, factors like controlling hypertension, not smoking, diabetes, your cholesterol level, exercise and obesity are absolutely modifiable risk factors, and in this study you’re referring to, up to 44% of dementia could be reduced by modifying those sorts of brain factors.”
Dr. Poland had more good news in a second recent study: “There’s a second study, called ‘Life’s Essential Eight’, that shows that the higher your cardiovascular health, it’s associated obviously with lower cardiovascular disease, but it’s also associated with lower risks of cancer… you can reduce the risk of cancer by about half by modifying those risk factors.”
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