More and more data is pointing in the same direction: dementia is not something that "begins at 70". It is built, or prevented, decades earlier.
Study 1: Vitamin D and the brain
A new study in Neurology followed around 800 individuals for over 15 years. Those with higher vitamin D levels in their 30s and 40s had lower levels of tau protein later in life, a central biomarker linked to Alzheimer's disease. In other words: a potentially modifiable risk factor, early in life.
Study 2: Optimism and dementia risk
A study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society shows that higher levels of optimism are linked to a lower risk of developing dementia. Psychological factors are not "soft", they are biologically relevant.
What does this mean in practice?
- Dementia does not begin at symptoms, but long before
- Risk is influenced by lifestyle, biochemistry and psychology
- There are factors we can actually influence
It is of course worth bearing in mind that this is associational data, not definitive proof. What matters is the direction.
Our take at Executive Health
We see the same thing: risk builds over time. And that is why screening in your 40s and 50s is so powerful.
- MRI (including the brain)
- Biomarkers (including future neurodegenerative signals)
- Metabolic and inflammatory profiles
This is not just about "finding disease". It is about staying ahead of it. Your brain health 20 to 30 years from now is shaped by what you do today. The question is not whether you should care, but how early you start.
