It’s time to iron out the details of your brain health.
New findings show that a condition that affects 10% of US adults over 65 is likely increasing their risk of dementia by more than half.
The good news, though, is that the condition is mostly treatable.
Researchers in Sweden studying the association between cognitive decline and anemia — a disease that impacts a person’s red blood cells and hemoglobin — found that anemic study participants had a 66% higher chance of developing dementia compared to the those with normal hemoglobin levels.
There were other red flags too: Anemia was linked with key blood biomarkers related to Alzheimer’s disease, including phosphorylated tau 217, or p-tau217, which suggests a possible tie between low hemoglobin and the building blocks of Alzheimer’s disease.
Of all the combinations observed in the study, the highest dementia risk belonged to those with both anemia and higher Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers, further emphasizing a possible connection between anemia and neurodegeneration.
Dr. Liron Sinvani,director of research and innovation for the Northwell Institute of Healthy Aging, explains that an anemia diagnosis means a person has a low red blood cell count.
“Why is this important? Because red blood cells carry oxygen,” Sinvani tells The Post. “If you have less red blood cells swimming around, then you could potentially have less oxygen.”
That spells trouble for the brain.
When the brain doesn’t get enough oxygen, it enters a state of oxidative stress. It loses neurons, and potentially becomes more susceptible to inflammation, with a lowered ability to remove toxins. All of these things could theoretically make a person more vulnerable to cognitive decline.
Yet it’s not all doom and gloom.
There’s reason to be inspired by this new study’s findings, Sinvani says, because “unlike some of the other dementia risk factors that we know, anemia may be modifiable. We can treat anemia.”
Because anemia is such a common condition, doctors are well-equipped to intervene with known strategies like dietary changes and increased iron intake, as well as testing for ongoing blood loss.
But studies like this are an important reminder that anemia diagnoses shouldn’t be overlooked.
“We tend to know when people are anemic because this is usually a pretty standard blood test that we do: a complete blood count,” Sinvani says.
“The thinking is usually we kind of let the hemoglobin be unless people are really symptomatic, or it gets too low. But this study raises the issue of whether we should be more aggressive in terms of correcting anemia.”
More research is needed before we’re able to draw a direct line between the two conditions. It’s also not clear yet if treating anemia — like, say, with iron supplements — would necessarily reduce a person’s risk of dementia. And Sinvani doesn’t recommend adding iron supplements to your routine unless you’ve been directed to do so by your doctor.
“But this does, for my practice, kind of make me think, ‘OK, should we be looking at anemia and managing it a little more with intent or with purpose?’” Sinvani says.
She also advocates for similar studies to be done with younger patients.
The average age of participants in this study was 72. But “if we can intervene earlier on, maybe, this is even more modifiable than we think.”
