Having normal blood pressure, stable blood sugar and not smoking could delay the onset of dementia by 13 years - as long as you do all three in midlife, a study has found. Researchers from the US also revealed that women develop dementia later than men - no matter the risk factors they have. More than 900,000 people are currently living with dementia in the UK, a figure expected to rise to more than 1.6 million by 2040. Dementia is the leading cause of death, accounting for more than 74,000 deaths a year.The vast majority of cases occur in over-65s - with risk doubling every five years past this age. Britons over 80 have a one in six chance of developing the condition. A growing body of research suggests that dementia is far from inevitable, however. Making healthy lifestyle choices - including getting regular exercise, eating a balanced diet and managing body weight - has been shown to reduce the risk of dementia by more than 45 per cent. Now the latest study, by scientists at at NYU Langone Health, suggests that meeting a series of health markers in midlife could stave off the disease by more than a decade. Three mid-life factors could delay the onset of dementia by more than a decade, a new study has found To measure the effect of different health factors on dementia risk, the research team analysed the medical data of more than 12,000 people with an average age of 56. Participants were assessed for three risk factors: high blood pressure, diabetes, and smoking. They were then followed for an average of 26 years. During that time, 3,008 developed dementia and 5,238 people died without developing dementia.Everyone experiences dementia differently. Use this checklist to help you make a note of your symptoms before you talk to your GP.Those who had no risk factors developed dementia 13 years later, on average, than those with all three. Amongst those who had all three risk factors, women tended to still develop dementia later than men. These women lived an average of 18.1 years from the start of tracking without developing dementia, compared to 16.6 years for male study participants. White participants with all three risk factors also tended to develop dementia later than black participants by an average of 3.6 years.