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The following is a summary of “Health-Related Behaviors and Risk of Common Age-Related Brain Diseases Across Severities of Genetic Risk,” published in the November 2024 issue of Neurology by Marini et al.  

The 21-point Brain Care Score (BCS) ranks behaviors and clinical measures to promote lifestyle changes that reduce the risk of stroke, late-life depression (LLD), and dementia.  

Researchers conducted a prospective study to evaluate whether BCS lowers the risk of age-related brain diseases independent of genetic predisposition.  

They used data from the UK Biobank (UKB, 368,340 participants, median age 58 years) to compute baseline BCSs, polygenic scores for genetic predisposition to stroke and LLD, and APOE ε allele status for dementia risk. Outcomes of stroke, LLD, and dementia were assessed using multivariate Cox proportional hazard models.  

The results showed that for every 5-point increase in BCS, the HR for stroke (HR 0.70, 95% CI 0.68–0.73), LLD (HR 0.65, 95% CI 0.63–0.67), and dementia (HR 0.82, 95% CI 0.78–0.85) were lower, independent of genetic risk. Incidences were higher among participants with high genetic risk but were lower in those with a higher BCS. For stroke, the incidence was 2.76 vs. 1.19 per 1,000 person-years, LLD, 7.34 vs. 4.46; and for dementia was 3.64 vs. 2.05 for low vs high BCS.  

They concluded that healthier lifestyle behaviors, as reflected by a higher BCS, can reduce the risk of stroke, LLD, and dementia, even among those with high genetic risk.  

Source: neurology.org/doi/10.1212/WNL.0000000000210014