A new study has revealed that people who are more educated and avoid heart disease have lesser chances of getting Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia, as compared to people who are less educated, NPR reports.
The study suggested that people might have some control over their risk of dementia as they age.
The study was published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.
For the study, the researchers looked at 30 years of records from more than 5,000 people in the famed Framingham Heart Study, which studied the health of volunteers in Framingham, Mass.
The study found that the incidence of dementia declined about 20 percent per decade starting in the 1970s among people who had at least a high school education.
The researchers also found that the people who had better markers for cardiovascular health, such as normal blood pressure, were also less likely to develop dementia.
"That's telling us that perhaps better management of cardiovascular disease could potentially help in the reduction of dementia," says Claudia Satizabal, an author of the study and an instructor in neurology at the Boston University School of Medicine.
Dr. Kenneth Langa, a professor at the University of Michigan who also studies trends in dementia told NPR that there was a decline in the prevalence of dementia and cognitive decline in line with the Framingham Study report.
He also stressed on the importance of cardiovascular in preventing dementia.
"The evidence both from animals in the cage and epidemiological studies shows that physical activity seems quite important for keeping your blood vessels healthy, and probably some specific growth factors that help the neurons in the brain. The general point that was brought out in the Framingham study is that cardiovascular fitness is very important."
