People can reduce their chances of developing dementia in old age by taking the precautions doctors recommend for avoidance of heart attacks and strokes, Scandinavian researchers said yesterday.

They found men and women who were obese or had high blood pressure or high cholesterol levels at 40 were a lot more likely to develop dementia by the age of 60.

Having any one of these risk factors doubled a person's chance of developing dementia, while having all three increased their chances by six times, said lead author Miia Kivipelto, of the Ageing Research Centre in Stockholm.