Systematic review and meta-analysis demonstrates that midlife vascular risk factors increase late-life Alzheimer's disease risk, highlighting targets for early dementia prevention.
Background/Objective: We examine whether midlife vascular risk factors (VRFs) are associated with increased risk of incident Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in a systematic review and meta-analysis of published cohort studies. Methods: Original cohort studies were included if they reported adjusted combined odds ratio (COR) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) or enough information to quantify the association between risk for AD in late-life and baseline VRFs of midlife. Results: There were positive and significant associations between high blood pressure (COR 1.31; 95% CI: 1.01–1.70), hypercholesterolemia (COR 1.72; 95% CI: 1.32–2.24), obesity (COR 1.88; 95% CI: 1.32–2.69), and diabetes mellitus in midlife (COR 1.4; 95% CI: 1.25–1.57). Smoking and hyperhomocysteinemia (although only one high-quality paper) were also associated with an increased risk of AD generally. Conclusions: These results strengthen the epidemiological evidence that VRFs of midlife significantly increase risk for AD.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Meng et al. (2014) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: