New Delhi

Anearlier onset of diabetes, hearing loss, physical inactivity and undernourishment are among the critical and modifiable risk factors for dementia in India, according to a study that reviewed 25 years of data on dementia prevalence and risk factors.

Researchers, led by those at the US' Rutgers University, reviewed research conducted in the Indian population between 2000 and 2025 to assess the status of current research on dementia in India.

The researchers found that, as in Western countries, dementia is more common among women in India.

Prevalence in India was also higher among people in rural areas, most likely because of underdiagnosis of the risk factors contributing to dementia, they said.

Findings from the studies were weighed against 14 modifiable risk factors for dementia listed by the 2024 Lancet Commission.

Addressing these risk factors could prevent or delay the onset of dementia in nearly half the cases, the commission had said.

The study, published in the journal Alzheimer's and Dementia, found that metabolic and vascular risk factors play a key role in midlife dementia risk in Indians.

Diabetes, which South Asians tend to develop earlier in life and often at a normal body weight, can double or even triple the risk of dementia, the researchers said.