A new USC led study of more than 214,000 older adults from 14 countries and regions suggests that preventing dementia may require different strategies in different parts of the world. Researchers found that many of the most important modifiable dementia risk factors, including low education, high blood pressure, and smoking, vary dramatically between countries. The findings indicate that a single global approach to dementia prevention is unlikely to be effective everywhere.
The research was presented at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference 2026 in London and was also published in The Lancet Healthy Longevity. AAIC is the world's largest scientific meeting focused on dementia research.
Dementia Risk Factors Vary Around the World
Most existing research on dementia prevention has come from high income countries, including the United States and nations in Western Europe. To determine whether those findings apply more broadly, researchers from USC worked with colleagues at Brown University and Johns Hopkins University to examine data from both high income and low and middle income countries.
The results revealed major differences, along with some unexpected similarities.
