A recent study found that cardiovascular risk factors may have contributed to a higher share of dementia risk over time. The findings suggest that these factors 'deserve more targeted action' in future prevention efforts. The corresponding study was published in The Lancet Public Health.
The number of people living with dementia globally is expected to increase as the population ages. There has thus been growing interest in modifiable risk factors that could potentially prevent around 40% of all dementia cases.
In the current study, researchers analyzed 27 papers involving people with dementia from around the world. They extracted data about dementia risk factors and calculated the proportion of dementia cases attributable to each one.
Ultimately, they found that smoking and having less education were recedingly common and thus contributed less to dementia prevalence over time. Meanwhile, rates of obesity and diabetes have increased over time alongside their contribution to dementia risk. Overall, however, the researchers found that hypertension was the greatest risk factor for dementia.
"Our results show that levels of education have increased over time in many higher-income countries, meaning that this has become a less important dementia risk factor. Meanwhile, smoking levels have also declined in Europe and the USA as it has become less socially acceptable and more expensive,” said lead author of the study, Dr. Naaheed Mukadam, Clinical Associate Professor at the Division of Psychiatry at University College London, in a press release.
"These patterns suggest that population-level interventions could significantly impact the occurrence of dementia risk factors, and governments should consider implementing schemes such as worldwide policies of education, and restrictions on smoking,” she continued.
The study has some limitations. Although cardiovascular risk factors have increased over time, in many countries, proactive management of these factors has also increased, perhaps lessening their effect on dementia risk. Furthermore, data included in the analysis was collected between 1947 and 2015, meaning that the findings may not represent the most recent risk factor trends.
Sources: Science Daily, The Lancet Public Health
