Written by Administrator| 25 January, 2005 13:11 GMT
Treating one's risk factors for heart disease may also reduce the risk for dementia. Earlier treatment may have an even greater benefit by virtue of the cumulative effect of longer exposure to protective therapies.
If High cholesterol, hypertension, diabetes and smoking don't kill you before you get there, they may cause dementia in your old age. If any of these four major factors for cardiovascular disease is present in midlife, the risk of dementia later is significantly heightened, new research has found. The presence of more than one factor raises the risk of dementia dramatically.The study of nearly 9,000 northern Californians is published in the January 25 issue of
Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Four Factors Equal 237% Greater Risk
Each of these four cardiovascular (CV) risk factors -- diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol and smoking -- identified between the ages of 40 to 44 was associated with a 20-40 percent increased risk of dementia in later life. Multiplying the risk factors drastically increased the chance of dementia.
Compared to those with no risk factors, those with two of the risk factors were 70 percent (or .7 times) more likely to be diagnosed with dementia; those with three were more than twice as likely; while individuals unfortunate enough to have all four risk factors had a 237 percent (or 2.37 times) greater likelihood of being diagnosed with dementia.
Correspondingly, treating one's risk factors for heart disease may also reduce the risk for dementia. Earlier treatment may have an even greater benefit by virtue of the cumulative effect of longer exposure to protective therapies.
By Risk Factor:
- Those with diabetes were 46 percent more likely to develop dementia;
- Participants with high total cholesterol were 42 percent more likely;
- Those with hypertension (high blood pressure) were 24 percent more likely;
- Participants who reported ever smoking at midlife were 26 percent more likely to develop dementia.
The effects of CV risk factors on prevalence of dementia were not significantly different among race or gender subgroups.
Twenty-Seven Years of Follow-Up
While previous studies have reported an association between individual CV risk factors and dementia, whether these risk factors in midlife are prospectively associated with risk of dementia in older age had not been thoroughly investigated.
"The real strength of our study is the large, multi-ethnic cohort of men and women, followed up for 27 years, all with equal access to medical care," said study author Rachel Whitmer, PhD, of Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, California.
This study was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health. |
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