Dementia risk is not just age and genes. The factors that matter most are specific to you.
There is no guaranteed way to prevent dementia. There is, however, much more you can do for your brain health than most people realize. The useful question is not how to optimize every risk factor. It is which ones matter most for you.
A syndrome with several causes, not one disease.
Dementia means memory or thinking decline severe enough to interfere with daily life, and several diseases can cause it. Alzheimer's is the most common. Vascular dementia results from damage to the brain's blood supply. Lewy body and frontotemporal dementia have different underlying biology, and mixed pathology is common. The biology differs, but many of the factors associated with long-term brain health overlap.
The Lancet figure describes populations. It does not mean any one person can lower their risk by an exact amount. It means dementia is not driven only by age or genes: a meaningful share of population risk is connected to factors that can be changed, treated, or managed.
What brought you here?
Three ways in, one page. Pick the one that sounds like you.
The list is general. The ranking is personal.
When BetterBrain looked across its coaching action plans, five recommendations appeared especially often: strength training, omega-3 intake, aerobic exercise, B vitamins, and adequate protein. That does not make them your top five.
See how coaching works ↗Turn a long list into a personal plan.
Knowing that exercise, sleep, cholesterol, or blood sugar matters is not the hard part. Doing something consistently enough to change it is.
ApoB and LDL help show atherosclerotic risk. HbA1c and fasting insulin give different views of blood sugar. hs-CRP adds context on inflammation. Homocysteine, B12, and folate may flag correctable issues.
No one number is a dementia test. Together, they show which systems are worth your attention: insulin resistance, high ApoB, or low B12 each set a different starting point.
A Brain Health Coach helps translate the research into real life, work through what is getting in the way, and adjust the plan as habits, goals, and biology change.
Science-backed should mean you can see the science.
BetterBrain has mapped roughly 1,500 studies to the biomarkers and techniques inside the app. When your plan includes strength training, a sleep technique, nutrition changes, or a biomarker target, you can see the research used to support it.
See what BetterBrain tests ↗Know what your plan is built on.
A general list of risk factors applies to everyone. Your starting point depends on your own markers, cognition, lifestyle, and family history.
Blueprint includes 50+ biomarkers, cognitive testing, lifestyle and family-history context, and a personalized plan ranked by impact. When your plan includes a recommendation, you can see the research used to support it.
Information is one input. The plan is the product.
BetterBrain does not hand you a number and wish you luck. Every result is read inside a system built to explain what it means for you, and where you can take meaningful action.
There is more to brain health than one checklist.
Up to 45% of dementia cases are potentially preventable, according to the 2024 Lancet Commission, which identified 14 modifiable risk factors across life. The useful question is where your own margin lies.
Review the evidence ↗Clear answers, without false certainty.
Can dementia be prevented?
Not with certainty. But many important risk factors are modifiable, and addressing them is associated with lower dementia risk at the population level.
What is the number one cause of dementia?
Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause. Among modifiable risk factors, hearing loss is one of the largest contributors in the 2024 Lancet analysis.
Do statins cause dementia?
Current evidence does not support that conclusion. If you take a statin, do not stop it because of a blog post. Discuss questions with your clinician.
At what age should I start thinking about dementia prevention?
Midlife is particularly important because vascular and metabolic risk accumulates over decades. But starting later still matters.
Find where your own margin lies, then start there.
Blueprint reads 50+ biomarkers alongside cognitive testing, lifestyle, and family history. A Brain Health Coach turns them into a personalized action plan, ranked by impact, and helps you follow through.