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High Troponin Levels Linked to Increased Dementia Risk

11/12/2025

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Summary

Story summary

Elevated cardiac troponin I levels indicate subtle heart muscle damage and predict higher dementia risk decades later in the Whitehall study of nearly 6,000 UK civil servants over 25 years.
MRI scans show that elevated troponin corresponds to reduced grey matter and hippocampal shrinkage, akin to three additional years of brain aging.
Participants with higher troponin levels were 38% more likely to develop dementia.

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Story summary

Elevated cardiac troponin I levels indicate subtle heart muscle damage and predict higher dementia risk decades later in the Whitehall study of nearly 6,000 UK civil servants over 25 years.
MRI scans show that elevated troponin corresponds to reduced grey matter and hippocampal shrinkage, akin to three additional years of brain aging.
Participants with higher troponin levels were 38% more likely to develop dementia.