A hallmark of accelerated aging appears to be linked to an increased risk of dementia and stroke, a new study says.
Shorter telomere length in a person's white blood cells is associated with the two brain diseases, researchers reported Wednesday in the journal Neurology.
However, the link was not found in people with healthy lifestyle habits, researchers added.
"Our findings support the potential benefits of working to improve your risk factors such as maintaining a healthy weight, limiting alcohol and getting enough sleep and exercise in reducing the risk of age-related brain disease even in people who are already showing signs of damaging biological aging," senior researcher Dr. Christopher Anderson, an associate professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School, said in a news release.
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