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Artery stiffness may increase the odds of developing dementia, a new study suggests. People are more likely to develop both stiff blood vessels and dementia as they grow older. The new study looked at links between these conditions in 81 adults. All were age 83 or older. They did not have dementia when the study began. Researchers gave them positron emission tomography (PET) scans of the brain. They also estimated artery stiffness by measuring how fast blood moves through the body. They repeated the tests 2 years later. At the beginning, 48% of those in the study had beta amyloid plaques in the brain. Larger amounts of beta amyloid are linked with Alzheimer’s disease. Two years later, 75% had amyloid deposits. People with stiffer arteries were more likely to have these deposits. The journal JAMA Neurology published the study. HealthDay News wrote about it March 31.

Having strong muscles as a child may help to lower the risk of future heart disease, a new study suggests. The study included more than 1,400 sixth graders. Researchers tested their hand-grip strength. This has been shown to reflect overall muscle strength. The study also included tests of blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar. Kids with greater grip strength tended to have lower levels of LDL (“bad cholesterol”) and triglycerides, another blood fat. They also had more HDL (“good cholesterol”) and slightly lower blood pressure. Their blood sugar levels also were a bit lower, which could lead to a lower risk of diabetes. Researchers adjusted their numbers to account for other things that can affect heart disease risk, such as being thinner or getting more exercise overall. They found that strength by itself was linked with healthier measurements.