Patient LoginRisk prediction tools currently used to estimate the likelihood of developing heart disease and stroke may actually be more helpful in predicting the onset of dementia, according to research carried out in 2013.
The extensive study, which involved nearly 8,000 people in total, calculated the risk of heart disease, stroke and dementia in each participant, and found links between heart disease risk scores and cognitive decline.
What the Study Measured
The study, which took place in the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research in Paris, calculated the risk of each participant at the beginning, and then compared predictions throughout actual results taken over the course of a ten year period.
The heart disease score took account of certain risk factors, such as age, blood pressure, medical treatment, cholesterol and smoking. The stroke score also included age, blood pressure, medication and smoking, and also recorded history of heart disease and irregular heartbeat. Finally, the dementia score took into account factors such as age, education, blood pressure, BMI, cholesterol and whether the participant had the APOE 4 gene, which is linked to dementia.
Both memory and thinking were measured three times in each participant during the 10 year study.
Results?
The initial risk assessments predicted decline in cognitive test results during the 10 year period. Revealingly, the heart disease risk score demonstrated more obvious links with cognitive decline than the dementia risk scores.
The researchers involved in the study concluded that the findings suggest that high cholesterol and blood pressure not only increase the risk of heart attack and stroke, but also have a detrimental impact on cognitive abilities.
Looking After the Body, Looking After the Mind
If nothing else, this study highlights the importance of diet, exercise and appropriate lifestyle choices; not only for protecting the heart, but also for reducing risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease.