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· Health/Science
· Cardio-vascular
· Mental Health/Neurology
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Jump to full article: Behavioral Health Central , 2009-11-15
Intro: Fresh data on dementia are presented in the report 'Risk of dementia hospitalisation associated with cardiovascular risk factors in midlife and older age: the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study.' According to recent research published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, "Cardiovascular risk factors are associated with a higher risk of developing dementia. Studies in older populations, however, have often failed to show this relationship."
"We assessed the association between cardiovascular risk factors measured in midlife and risk of being hospitalised with dementia and determined whether this association was modified by age and ethnicity. We studied 11 151 participants in the population-based Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities cohort, aged 46-70 (23% African-Americans) in 1990-2, when participants underwent a physical exam and cognitive testing. Hospitalisations with dementia were ascertained through December 2004. During follow-up, 203 cases of hospitalisation with dementia were identified. Smoking (hazard ratio (HR), 95% CI 1.7, 1.2 to 2.5), hypertension (HR, 95% CI 1.6, 1.2 to 2.2) and diabetes (HR, 95% CI 2.2, 1.6 to 3.0) were strongly associated with dementia, in Caucasians and African-Americans. . . .
The researchers concluded: "Our results emphasise the importance of early lifestyle modification and risk factor treatment to prevent dementia."
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