Cited by 1,238Dementia and Cognitive Impairment ResearchCardiovascular Health and Risk FactorsMenopause: Health Impacts and Treatments

Midlife cardiovascular risk factors and risk of dementia in late life

Whitmer, R. A., Sidney, S., Selby, J., Johnston, S. Claiborne, Yaffe, K.·2005·Neurology

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate if midlife cardiovascular risk factors are associated with risk of late-life dementia in a large, diverse cohort. METHOD: The authors conducted a retrospective cohort study of 8,845 participants of a health maintenance organization who underwent health evaluations from 1964 to 1973 when they were between the ages of 40 and 44. Midlife cardiovascular risk factors included total cholesterol, diabetes, hypertension, and smoking. Diagnoses of dementia were ascertained by medical records from January 1994 to April 2003. RESULTS: The authors identified 721 participants (8.2%) with dementia. Smoking, hypertension, high cholesterol, and diabetes at midlife were each associated with a 20 to 40% increase in risk of dementia (fully adjusted Cox proportional hazards model: HR 1.24, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.48 for hypertension, HR 1.26, 95% CI 1.08 to 1.47 for smoking, HR 1.42, 95% CI 1.22 to 1.66 for high cholesterol, and HR 1.46, 95% CI 1.19 to 1.79 for diabetes). A composite cardiovascular risk score was created using all four risk factors and was associated with dementia in a dose-dependent fashion. Compared with participants having no risk factors, the risk for dementia increased from 1.27 for having one risk factor to 2.37 for having all four risk factors (fully adjusted model: HR 2.37, 95% CI 1.10 to 5.10). CONCLUSION: The presence of multiple cardiovascular risk factors at midlife substantially increases risk of late-life dementia in a dose dependent manner.

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Crossref · 10.1212/01.wnl.0000149519.47454.f2

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  • Part of the risk factors for cardiovascular disease are in common with Alzheimer's disease, including hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes, obesity, dietary factors, smoking, and physical activity.

    “This could explain why part of the risk factors for cardiovascular disease are in common with AD, including hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes, obesity, dietary factors, smoking, and physical activity (Figure 1B).”
  • Cardiovascular damage is a risk factor for neurodegenerative diseases, and a healthy cardiovascular system can be considered neuroprotective.

    “Cardiovascular damage is a risk factor for neurodegenerative diseases, and since the brain is supplied by a large network of blood vessels, a healthy cardiovascular system can be considered neuroprotective [100].”
  • Lifestyle is an important risk factor, where intellectual, physical, and social activities, as well as diet, may help to prevent Alzheimer's disease.

    “Thus, lifestyle is also an important risk factor, where intellectual, physical, and social activities, as well as diet, may help to prevent AD [1,22,100,101,102,103].”
  • Increased brain cholesterol levels and dyslipidemias overall have been linked to Alzheimer's disease incidence.

    “Increased brain cholesterol levels and dyslipidemias overall have been linked to AD incidence [49,55,100,107].”

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Authors
Whitmer, R. A., Sidney, S., Selby, J., Johnston, S. C., & Yaffe, K.
Affiliations
Kaiser Permanente (US)
Venue
Neurology
Published
2005-01-25
Volume
64
Issue
2
Pages
277-281
ISSN
  • 0028-3878 (ISSN-L)
  • 1526-632X
OpenAlex
W1999664376
Cited by
1,238
References
3
Citations by year
2026: 29 · 2025: 49 · 2024: 52 · 2023: 49 · 2022: 57 · 2021: 96 · 2020: 81 · 2019: 70 · 2018: 79 · 2017: 61 · 2016: 56 · 2015: 55 · 2014: 64 · 2013: 72 · 2012: 61
FWCI
26.19
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Neurology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (1 K12 AR47659, K12AR047659)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Cardiovascular Health and Risk Factors
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Menopause: Health Impacts and Treatments
Keywords
dementia, cardiovascular risk factors, midlife, late-onset dementia, hypertension, smoking, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular risk score, dose-response relationship
MeSH terms
Adult, Aged, California, Cardiovascular Diseases, Dementia, Diabetes Mellitus, Female, Humans, Hypercholesterolemia, Hypertension, Male, Middle Aged, Retrospective Studies, Risk, Risk Factors, Smoking, Cohort Studies, Comorbidity, Proportional Hazards Models, Age of Onset

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