New research has found that women can lower their risk of developing dementia by adopting seven healthy lifestyle habits recommended by the American Heart Association. Women make up about two-thirds of people with dementia, making this research especially relevant to them.

The study followed 13,720 women for 20 years to analyze their risk of developing dementia. At the end of the study, the researchers examined Medicare claims to determine who received a diagnosis. The women received a score based on seven health factors, with a score of 7 corresponding to “excellent” and 0 corresponding to “poor.”

The seven healthy lifestyle habits are being active, eating better, maintaining a healthy weight, not smoking, maintaining healthy blood pressure, controlling cholesterol, and having low blood sugar. The researchers found that for every increase of one point in the overall score, the participant’s risk of dementia decreased by 6%.

Dr. Joel Salinas, a behavioral neurologist and researcher at NYU Langone Health, says that people don’t need to be the healthiest person to receive benefits from these healthy habits. Even if people have a good score in one or two areas, they are receiving some benefit. Any improvements incrementally improve long-term health.