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Updating risk and protective factors for dementia in older adults

Nature Reviews Psychology volume 4, pages 322–335 (2025)Cite this article

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Abstract

Promoting good cognitive functioning and preventing dementia in late life are priority actions for many countries with rapidly ageing populations. Although epidemiological research has established some modifiable factors that influence the risk of cognitive impairment (such as low education level, hearing impairment, smoking, obesity, physical inactivity or social isolation), a growing literature suggests further risk and protective factors that might affect cognitive functioning and dementia. In this Review, we examine the potential effects of these less well-established factors, and discuss promotion and prevention strategies at the population and individual levels that might reduce dementia risk in the long term. Reducing financial struggles, neighbourhood deprivation and workplace strain and promoting leisure activities, emotional wellbeing and healthy nutritional styles have emerged as factors that might help to prevent dementia and could be included among priority actions for healthy cognitive ageing.

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Fig. 1: Less well-established dementia risk and protective factors with meta-analytic evidence.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. RG Psychosocial Epidemiology & Public Health, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Greifswald, Germany

    Francisca S. Rodriguez & Lena M. Hofbauer

  2. Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing, Discipline of Psychiatry and Mental Health, School of Clinical Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

    Simone Reppermund & Suraj Samtani

  3. School of Psychology, Massey University, Albany Campus, Auckland, Aotearoa, New Zealand

    Susanne Röhr

  4. Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI), Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

    Susanne Röhr

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  2. Lena M. Hofbauer
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F.S.R. and L.M.H. researched data for the article. All authors contributed substantially to discussion of the content, wrote the article and reviewed and/or edited the manuscript before submission.

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Rodriguez, F.S., Hofbauer, L.M., Reppermund, S. et al. Updating risk and protective factors for dementia in older adults. Nat Rev Psychol 4, 322–335 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44159-025-00438-w

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