Studies have shown that there is a link between cardiovascular health and brain health, but it is unclear whether genetic or environmental factors are most important in determining them both. A new study in twins suggests that nurture, rather than nature, may be decisive.

Nurture may be more important than genetic factors in determining heart and brain health outcomes.

Evidence from different studies has suggested that there is a strong linkTrusted Source between cardiovascular health and brain health.

Researchers have explained that poor cardiovascular health can, with age, contribute to dementia mechanisms, affecting cognitive function.

But what predisposes a person to poorer — or better — cardiovascular and brain health? So far, scientists have been unable to answer this question with any degree of certainty.

Generally speaking, there are two types of factors that could influence aspects of heart and brain health in the long term. These are genetic (nonmodifiable) factors and environmental (modifiable) factors, a conjuncture that people sometimes refer to as the "nature vs. nurture" conundrum.

To try to determine whether genes or environmental factors play a more important role in long term health outcomes for the heart and brain, researchers from Emory University in Atlanta, GA, decided to study a cohort able to provide more solid answers: pairs of twins.

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