Around 7 million Americans age 65 and older have Alzheimer’s disease, the most common type of dementia, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. Though the disease is typically associated with advanced age, it’s estimated that 200,000 Americans between 30 and 64 years old have what is known as younger-onset dementia.

As the medical community continues to search for possible dementia causes—particularly in light of the U.S. Baby Boomer generation aging—previous research has suggested a potential link between Alzheimer’s disease and metabolic syndrome. According to the Cleveland Clinic, metabolic syndrome is a combination of at least three of the following five conditions:

  • Excess belly weight (a waist circumference that’s more than 40 inches in men and 35 inches in women)
  • High triglyceride (fat) levels in the blood
  • Low HDL cholesterol
  • High blood sugar
  • High blood pressure

However, it’s been unclear if metabolic syndrome could contribute to the development of younger-onset (or early-onset) dementia, which affects people younger than 65 years old. The Mayo Clinic explains, “Researchers don’t fully know why some people get the disease at a younger age than others do.”

To learn more, researchers in South Korea set out to learn if metabolic syndrome and “its individual components” could increase the risk of developing young-onset dementia.

Publishing their study findings in the May issue of the peer-reviewed medical journal Neurology, the research team examined data for 1,979,509 people between 40 and 60 years old who had national health exams in 2009, as gathered by the Korean National Insurance Service. Participants—51.3% of whom were men, while 50.7% were women—were “followed until December 31, 2020, or age 65, whichever came first.”

After an average of almost 8 years, 8,921 participants were diagnosed with young-onset dementia.

Researchers then adjusted results for various influencing factors (such as age and education), with their findings suggesting that metabolic syndrome (which 25% of participants had) was connected to:

  • A 24% increased risk of all-cause young-onset dementia
  • A 12.4% higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease
  • A 20.9% greater risk of vascular dementia (The Mayo Clinic defines it as dementia that is thought to be caused by brain damage from “impaired blood flow” to the brain.)

“Our study found having metabolic syndrome in middle age is a risk factor for young-onset dementia,” said study author Minwoo Lee, MD, PhD, in a press release published by the American Academy of Neurology.

Further, the study also suggested that women with metabolic syndrome had a 34% greater risk of dementia, while men had a 15% higher risk. Additionally, participants in their 40s were more at risk of developing young-onset dementia than those in their 50s, and participants who had all five components of metabolic syndrome had a 70% higher risk of dementia.

“Our findings suggest that lifestyle changes to reduce the risk of metabolic syndrome, such as eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, maintaining a healthy weight, quitting smoking and reducing stress, may help reduce the risk of young-onset dementia,” said Dr. Lee.

Still, more research is needed, as the study only presented a potential link, not a direct cause.

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Emily Surpless
Emily has over a decade of experience producing digital content, working on sites focused on health, lifestyle, home, and entertainment. As the editor for The Healthy by Reader’s Digest, she focuses on pitching and optimizing content to satisfy reader curiosity and reach new users. Prior to her role at The Healthy, Emily was the Sr. SEO Manager ...
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Emily Surpless