Having a biological age older than chronological age is associated with a greater likelihood of developing dementia, a new study has shown. By combining measures of biological aging and genetic risk, researchers have identified individuals at a higher risk of developing dementia and those who will develop the disease at a younger age.

The analysis, led by King’s College London researchers, showed that those with both advanced biological aging and the highest genetic risk, namely those carrying two copies of the APOE ε4 allele, were 10 times more likely to develop dementia. These two factors appear to act largely independently, suggesting that there are distinct genetic and biological aging pathways linked to dementia.