Does midlife vascular risk predict dementia outcomes?
Investigators analyzed the potential connection between vascular risk factors and the extent of dementia-free years at midlife.
In a study published in Neurology Open Access, the investigators examined the presentation of vascular risk factors — diabetes, hypertension or current smoking status — and the subsequent diagnosis of dementia via cognitive assessments and surveillance, as well as mortality among more than 12,000 participants with a median age of 56 years.
After a median follow-up of more than 26 years, the investigators identified more than 3,000 cases of dementia and 5,200 deaths without dementia. The participants who exhibited all three risk factors were more likely to develop dementia compared with those who had none of the risk factors. The participants in the higher-risk group were also more likely to experience mortality without dementia but also had nearly half the number of dementia-free survival years compared with those who had none of the three risk factors. The correlation between having all three risk factors and dementia-free survival years was slightly attenuated among female versus male participants and white versus Black participants. Further, the cumulative incidence of dementia by the age of 95 years was lower among those with a greater burden of vascular risk factors compared with those who had no risk factors because non-dementia-related mortality tended to occur prior to the development of dementia.
The findings highlighted the need for patient-centered strategies to help reduce the risk factors associated with vascular and cognitive risk.
Read more: Neurology Open Access
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