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. 2021 Dec;17(12):1914-1922.
doi: 10.1002/alz.12343. Epub 2021 Jul 26.

Association of cardiovascular risk burden with risk of dementia and brain pathologies: A population-based cohort study

Ruixue Song  1   2   3 , Kuan-Yu Pan  4 , Hui Xu  5 , Xiuying Qi  1   2   3 , Aron S Buchman  6 , David A Bennett  6 , Weili Xu  1   2   3   7
Affiliations

Association of cardiovascular risk burden with risk of dementia and brain pathologies: A population-based cohort study

Ruixue Song et al. Alzheimers Dement. 2021 Dec.

Abstract

Introduction: The impact of cardiovascular risk burden on brain pathologies remains unclear. We aimed to examine the association of the Framingham General Cardiovascular Risk Score (FGCRS) with dementia risk, and brain pathologies.

Methods: Within the Rush Memory and Aging Project, 1588 dementia-free participants were assessed on FGCRS at baseline and followed up to 21 years. During the follow-up, 621 participants died and underwent autopsies.

Results: The multi-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) (95% confidence intervals [CIs]) of FGCRS were 1.03 (1.00-1.07) for dementia and 1.04 (1.01-1.07) for Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia. Further, a higher FGCRS was associated with higher gross chronic cerebral infarctions (odds ratio [OR] 1.08, 95% CI 1.02-1.14), cerebral atherosclerosis (OR 1.10, 95% CI 1.03-1.17), and global AD pathology (OR 1.06, 95% CI 1.01-1.12).

Conclusions: A higher FGCRS is associated with an increased risk of dementia and AD dementia. Both vascular and AD pathologies in the brain may underlie this association.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease dementia; Framingham General Cardiovascular Risk Score; brain pathology; cohort study; dementia.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: The authors report no disclosures relevant to the manuscript.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of cardiovascular disease risk categories in relation to pathologies of brain tissue. Note: ORs were adjusted for age, sex, education, BMI, heart disease, stroke, alcohol consumption physical activity, apolipoprotein ε4 and time from study entry till death, with the lowest risk group as reference.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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