Frank Wolters, MD from the Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands discusses a population study on age- and sex-specific parental family history of dementia in relation to subclinical brain disease and risk of developing dementia. Dr Wolters explains that a parental history of dementia, in particular when age of onset is below 80 years of age, is associated with an increased risk of dementia. He further discusses the potential reasons for this association and why family history is an important risk factor for dementia.