Table 1.

Some of the major risk categories for age-related cognitive impairment (ARCI) and cognitive decline, and a list of individual factors that have been associated with each category.

Risk Category	Factors
Cardiovascular Insufficiency	Hypertension, increased body fat/obesity, heart failure, heart disease, high cholesterol, smoking, sedentary lifestyle, poor diet
Glucose Dysregulation	Type 1 and 2 diabetes, prediabetes, poor diet, sedentary lifestyle, increased body fat/obesity, family history
Immune dysfunction	Hormonal changes, environmental exposure to toxins, infections
Chronic Stress	Social isolation, chronic illness, life adversity and loss, trauma, bereavement and grief, caregiving, depression/anxiety, financial hardship
Reserve and Resilience	Educational attainment, early life experiences, occupational complexity, lifelong learning opportunities
Circadian Rhythm Disruption	Sleep disruptions, multi-system dysregulation
Neuropathologies	Plaques, tangles, α synuclein, proteinopathies
Physical Changes	Sensory dysfunction (hearing, vision, balance, olfaction), physical frailty, chronic pain, polypharmacy

Some risk categories are also commonly related to one another and may share individual risk factors.