March 6, 2025European Journal of Preventive Cardiology11 citationsOpen Access
View Full PaperCardiovascular diseases and risk of dementia in the general population
Key Result
Genetic susceptibility for ischemic stroke was associated with an increased risk of all-cause dementia (OR 1.64; 95% CI 1.35-1.98), Alzheimer's disease, and vascular dementia.
Study Design
Type
Cohort (n=489,661)
Multicenter
Yes
Structured PICO
Does the presence of or genetic susceptibility to cardiovascular diseases increase the risk of dementia in the general population?
P
Population
489,661 participants from three prospective cohorts (Copenhagen City Heart Study, Copenhagen General Population Study, and UK Biobank) evaluated for the association between cardiovascular diseases and incident dementia.
E
Exposure
Presence of cardiovascular diseases (nine CVDs, including ischemic stroke and ischemic heart disease) and genetic susceptibility to CVDs
C
Comparator
Absence of cardiovascular diseases and lower genetic susceptibility to CVDs
O
Outcome
Risk of all-cause dementia, Alzheimer's disease, and vascular dementiahard clinical
Genetic susceptibility to ischemic stroke and ischemic heart disease is causally associated with an increased risk of dementia, highlighting the potential of cardiovascular prevention to reduce dementia risk.
Main Result
Odds Ratio: 1.64 (95% CI 1.35–1.98)
Abstract
AIMS: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) have been linked to increased risk of dementia in observational studies, whereas genetic studies have yielded inconsistent findings. We aimed to determine whether nine CVDs are causally associated with the risk of all-cause dementia, Alzheimer's disease, and vascular dementia. METHODS: We performed time-dependent Cox regression analyses in three prospective cohorts, the Copenhagen City Heart Study (N=10,373), the Copenhagen General Population Study (N=101,582), and the UK Biobank (N=377,706), and meta-analyzed individual estimates. Furthermore, we assessed genetic susceptibility for CVDs and the risk of dementia using individual-level data from the UK Biobank and summary statistics from the FinnGen study. RESULTS: Observationally, CVDs were associated with risk of all incident outcomes in meta-analyses, with hazard ratios up to 7.00 (95% confidence interval CI: 6.20, 7.92). Genetically, in the UK Biobank, susceptibility for ischemic stroke was associated with risk of all-cause dementia, Alzheimer's disease, and vascular dementia, and odds ratios (ORs) were 1.64 (1.35, 1.98), 1.44 (1.10, 1.89), and 2.06 (1.41, 3.01), respectively, with similar estimates for ischemic stroke; genetic susceptibility for ischemic heart disease was associated with risk of vascular dementia (OR: 1.24 1.03, 1.50). Genetic summary statistics from the FinnGen study confirmed the associations between ischemic stroke and stroke. CONCLUSION: Associations between stroke and all-cause dementia and its major subtypes are likely to be causal. Moreover, genetic susceptibility for ischemic heart disease is associated with incident vascular dementia. These findings underscore the importance of integrating CVD prevention into interventions to enable early prevention and reduce the risk of dementia.