What your ‘cognitive score’ reveals about your body

A “scorecard” crafted to evaluate an individual’s risk of experiencing brain-related issues operates in a similar manner for heart ailments and the three predominant types of cancer, as indicated by a new study from Mass General Brigham published in Family Practice.

The McCance Brain Care Score, established at Mass General Brigham, is a list intended to evaluate modifiable risk factors affecting brain health. The scorecard also acts as a practical framework guiding individuals to recognize significant, achievable lifestyle adjustments that enhance brain — and potentially overall — health. Earlier studies have demonstrated that a higher score, indicative of superior brain care, correlates with a lower risk of stroke, dementia, and depression later in life.

“While the McCance Brain Care Score was initially created to target modifiable risk factors for brain ailments, we have likewise uncovered that it’s linked to the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases and common cancers,” remarked senior author Sanjula Singh from the McCance Center for Brain Health at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. “These results reinforce the notion that brain diseases, heart diseases, and cancers share overlapping risk factors, and that by taking greater care of your brain, you might also be enhancing the health of your heart and body as a whole concurrently.”

Neurological disorders such as stroke, dementia, and late-life depression are frequently propelled by a combination of modifiable risk factors. Likewise, cardiovascular diseases — encompassing ischemic heart disease, stroke, and heart failure — and the three most prevalent cancers worldwide (lung, colorectal, and breast cancer) share numerous risk factors. At least 80 percent of cardiovascular disease instances and 50 percent of cancer occurrences are linked to modifiable behaviors such as inadequate nutrition, physical inactivity, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, elevated blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar, in addition to psychosocial elements like stress and social isolation.

Considering this overlap, researchers utilized data from the UK Biobank to examine health outcomes in 416,370 individuals aged 40 to 69 years. They discovered that a 5-point higher Brain Care Score at baseline was associated with a 43 percent reduced risk of developing cardiovascular disease over a median follow-up of 12.5 years. For cancer, a 5-point increment in Brain Care Score was associated with a 31 percent lower incidence of lung, colorectal, and breast cancer.

The authors recognized several limitations. First, although the findings reveal robust associations, the study does not establish causality — even though previous evidence indicates that some individual components of the Brain Care Score, such as smoking, physical activity, and blood pressure management, have causal connections to specific outcomes. Second, since the UK Biobank encompasses only participants aged 40 to 69 at enrollment, the findings may not apply to younger or older populations. Lastly, while the score offers a broad and accessible measure of brain health, it is not intended as a disease-specific predictive model.

“The aim of the McCance Brain Care Score is to empower individuals to undertake small, significant steps toward improved brain health,” stated lead author Jasper Senff, who undertook this research as a postdoctoral fellow in the Singh Lab within the Brain Care Labs at Massachusetts General Hospital. “Enhancing your brain health by advancing your Brain Care Score may also correlate with broader health advantages, including a decreased likelihood of heart disease and cancer.”

“Primary care providers globally face increasing pressures to manage complex health needs within restricted time,” added Singh. “A straightforward, user-friendly tool like the McCance Brain Care Score holds significant potential — not only for fostering brain health but also for addressing modifiable risk factors for a wider array of chronic diseases in an effective, time-efficient manner.”

Funding for this research was provided by the National Institutes of Health and American Heart Association.