The link between cardiovascular risk factors and dementia confirmed

Several epidemiological studies presented at the 9th International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders, held in Philadelphia (USA), confirmed a link between cardiovascular risk factors and dementia.
The results of this association remain contradictory but some work suggests that changes in lifestyle could also reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease, says Dr. Marilyn Albert, President of the Scientific Council of the Alzheimer's Association, which organized this conference.

A team from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm (Sweden) and the University of Kuopio (Finland) presented results on cholesterol and obesity among elderly than forty years in the studies North Karelia Project and FINMONICA. After a mean follow up of 21 years, 1449 people were revised in 1998, aged 65-79 years.

The researchers calculated that obesity in midlife, that is to say, a BMI (body mass index, weight ratio of the square of height) equal to or greater than 30 kg/m2, multiply by 2, 4 subsequent risk of dementia regardless of age, education level or gender.

They have also shown that high cholesterol and hypertension in midlife are also independent risk factors for dementia.

These factors can add to increase the risk of dementia by 6.2.

In another analysis of the same cohort, the authors also found a link between high consumption of fat, especially when saturated, quarantine and subsequent risk of dementia (RR = 1.6).

This work confirms the results of a large U.S. study presented at the American Academy of Neurology.

In another study of 86 elderly, Swedish-Finnish team has demonstrated a link between low levels of HDL-cholesterol and atrophy of both the hippocampus and total brain volume. However, hippocampal atrophy is a risk factor for dementia.

For their part, Jae Kang and his colleagues at Harvard University in Boston (USA) analyzed the eating habits of 13,388 women participating since 1976 in the Nurse's Health Study, showing that those who ate the highest amounts of vegetables Green in particular, had a reduced risk of cognitive decline compared to those who ate very little risk.

Another U.S. team conducted a retrospective analysis from 3308 elderly, suggesting that those who were taking antihypertensive drugs reduced their risk by 36% of developing Alzheimer's disease.