A simple urine test could reveal your risk of developing dementia decades before symptoms appear, a new study shows. For the study, my colleagues and I tracked 130,000 people and found that protein in the urine may act as an early warning sign for memory problems.
Our research showed that people with higher levels of protein leaking into their urine – a condition known as albuminuria – had a significantly greater chance of developing dementia. The association was strongest for vascular dementia, the second most common form after Alzheimer’s, and mixed dementia, which combines features of both types.
