Alzheimers Dement: Middle-aged people with good cardiovascular conditions have a lower risk of dementia

Dementia is a devastating disease and it is crucial
to prevent cognitive decline early before symptoms of dementia appear.
Given the multifactorial nature of dementia, interventions targeting multiple risk factors may be required simultaneously throughout life for optimal prevention
.
Vascular risk factors are increasingly recognized as important factors in the development of dementia and, therefore, potential targets for
early preventive therapy.

Sanaz Sedaghat et al.
published a research paper in Alzheimers Dement evaluating whether improvements in cardiovascular health in midlife and improvements in cardiovascular health in midlife were associated
with dementia risk.

Through a series of examinations of two population-based cohorts from different time periods, the Community Atherosclerosis Risk (ARIC) Study and the Age, Gene/Environmental Sensitivity (AGES)-Reykjavik Study, which sought to assess higher levels in middle age Whether improvements in CVH and CVH in middle age were associated
with a lower risk of dementia.
In secondary analyses, attempts were made to assess whether higher CVH in old age and improvement in CVH from middle to old age were associated
with a lower risk of dementia.

Two population-based longitudinal studies were used: community atherosclerosis risk (ARIC) (n = 11,460 times at 54 and 60 years).
and age, genetic/environmental sensitivity (ages) - Reykjavik (n = 3907/time, 51 years).

。 A cardiovascular health score (range 0-12/0-14) was calculated at each visit, including 6/7 items, with each item weighted as poor (0), moderate (1) or ideal (2).

Cardiovascular health is defined as low (0-4/0-5), moderate (5-7/6-9), or high (8-12/10-14).

Incidental dementia was identified through links to health records and neuropsychological
examinations.

1.
Better cardiovascular health in midlife was associated with a lower risk of dementia (hazard ratio [HR]: ARIC: 0.
60 [95% confidence interval, CI: 0.
52, 0.
69]); For AGES - Reykjavik: 0.
83 [0.
66, 0.
99].

Heatmap
of participants and dementia cases in the middle-aged cardiovascular health status category at community atherosclerosis risk (n = 11,460).

2.
Improved cardiovascular health in midlife was associated with a reduced risk of dementia (for each additional point in HR: ARIC: 0.
94 [0.
92, 0.
96]).

Promoting cardiovascular health in midlife can help reduce the risk of
dementia.

Higher CVH and improved CVH in middle age were associated
with a lower risk of dementia.
These findings could have important public health implications, underscoring the need to raise and maintain an ideal CVH in middle age to
reduce dementia risk.

Original source:

Sedaghat S, Lutsey PL, Ji Y, et al.
Association of change in cardiovascular risk factors with incident dementia [published online ahead of print, 2022 Oct 27].
Alzheimers Dement.
2022; 10.
1002/alz.
12818.
doi:10.
1002/alz.
12818