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Study Shows That Midlife Obesity, High Blood Pressure, And High
Total Cholesterol are all Significant Risk Factors for Dementia and
Alzheimer’s
January
2, 2006
Introduction
On January 1, 2006, the first baby-boomer turned 60. This sobering
thought should encourage all the other baby boomers to look at their
lifestyles, general health, and disease risk factors, and assess
where they are likely to be in 20 years. Unfortunately, many of them
will be in nursing homes, suffering from Alzheimer’s and other
dementias.
Swedish
researchers have just published an interesting study on this
problem. Although we don’t know what causes Alzheimer’s, there’s no
disputing that the frequency of the disease is increasing, and there
are a number of ‘risk factors’ closely linked with it.
Elimination of an individual’s risk factors reduces the chances of
their developing the condition. The study was reported in the
Archives of Neurology, and we summarize the main points here.
What was done
Participants in the Finnish Cardiovascular Risk Factors, Aging, and
Dementia Study were examined at 5-year intervals between 1972 and
1987; they were aged 50, on average, at their initial exam. They
were re-examined in 1998, after an average follow-up of 21 years.
The main risk factors assessed at baseline were body mass index
(BMI), blood pressure, lipid levels, smoking status, cardiovascular
disease history, and socioeconomic factors. The subjects were
categorized into three groups according to their BMI values: less
than 25, 25 to 30, and over 30 kg/m2.
At the final exam in 1998 the surviving participants underwent a
3-stage testing for dementia – Alzheimer’s and non-Alzheimer’s
dementia.
What the results showed
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At
baseline (i.e. mid-life, about 50 years of age) one third of the
participants had a normal BMI (less than 25). Half the group were
overweight (BMI 25-30) and 16% were obese (BMI over 30).
Twenty years later, even after adjusting for socioeconomic factors
like income and education levels, obesity was linked to an almost 2½
times greater risk for dementia and Alzheimer’s. When adjustments
were made for raised cholesterol, smoking, and high blood pressure,
the effect of obesity was a bit less - about twice the risk for
dementia.
A
systolic blood pressure (that’s the upper number) of 140 mmHg or
above was associated with double the risk for dementia, when
compared with people with systolic pressure below 140 mmHg.
Having a total cholesterol level above 250 mg/dL was also linked to
an almost doubling of the risk for dementia.
The
authors calculated whether these risk factors had an additive
effect. They found that someone with all three risk factors
(obesity, high systolic pressure and raised cholesterol) was about 6
times more likely to develop dementia than someone with none of
them.
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