Middle-aged people with diabetes and high BP have
higher chances of suffering from dementia later
Middle-aged persons who have cardiovascular health
risk factors, such as diabetes, high blood pressure and
are also current smokers, have a greater chance of suffering from dementia later in
life, researchers have warned. The findings showed that the chances of dementia
increased most strongly with age followed by the presence of APOE4 — a gene
associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Diabetes or high blood pressure, also
called hypertension, increased the chances of developing
dementia. Importantly, diabetes was found to be almost as strong a
predictor of dementia as the presence of the APOE4 gene, the researchers said.
“Our results contribute to a growing body of evidence linking midlife vascular
health to dementia,” said Rebecca Gottesman, Professor at the Johns Hopkins
University in Baltimore, US.
However, “these are modifiable risk factors. Our hope
is that by addressing these types of factors early, people can reduce the
chances that they will suffer from dementia later in life,” Gottesman added. In
addition, the researchers also discovered a link between dementia and
prehypertension — a condition in which blood pressure levels are higher than
normal but lower than hypertension. Diabetes, hypertension and
prehypertension increased the chances of dementia for participants,
irrespective of race. Finally, smoking cigarettes also increased the chances of
dementia, the researchers noted. For the study, published in JAMA Neurology,
the team analysed the data of 15,744 persons, from 1987-1989 aged 45-64 years.
During an average of 23 follow-up years, the
researchers found 1,516 participants were diagnosed with dementia. In a
separate study, Gottesman found that the presence of one or more vascular risk
factors during midlife was associated with higher levels of beta amyloid — a protein
that often accumulates in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. This
relationship was not affected by the presence of the APOE4 gene and not seen
for risk factors present in later life, the researchers said.
Source: www.thehealthsite.com
10.08.2017
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