Heart health in young adults tied to later mental function

By Kathryn Doyle NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Young adults with healthy blood pressure go on to have better thinking and memory skills in midlife than their peers with higher blood pressure, according to a new analysis. Previous studies have linked poor fitness and heart health in middle age to declining mental function and dementia around age 70 or 80 (see Reuters Health story of November 19, 2009 here: http://reut.rs/1i8EG2q). The new study suggests the relationship between heart health and brain function starts much earlier, linking blood pressure and blood sugar early in life with mental acuity decades later. "We know these risk factors are important later in life but what is new is that they seem to be important for cognitive health even going from young to mid adulthood," lead author Dr. Kristine Yaffe of the University of California, San Francisco, told Reuters Health in an email.



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