Authors: Ruixue Song, Hui Xu, Kuan‐Yu Pan, Xiuying Qi, Aron S Buchman, David A Bennett, Weili Xu
Published: 2020-12-07
DOI: 10.1002/alz.040528
Source: Full article
AbstractBackgroundTo examine the association of cardiovascular risk burden assessed by Framingham General Cardiovascular Risk Score (FGCRS) with incidence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia, and brain vascular pathologies.MethodsWithin the Rush Memory and Aging Project, 1203 cognitively intact participants were identified at baseline and followed up to 21 years to detect incident MCI and dementia. FGCRS was assessed at baseline and categorized into tertiles (the lowest, middle, and the highest). MCI and dementia were diagnosed following standard criteria. During the follow‐up, 423 participants died and underwent autopsies for neuropathological assessments. Data were analyzed using Cox regression model, linear regression and logistic regression.ResultsDuring the follow‐up, 457 participants developed MCI and 192 developed dementia. FGCRS, as continuous variable, was dose‐dependently related to the incidence of MCI and dementia. Compared to the participants with the lowest tertile of FGCRS, those with the highest tertile had the multi‐adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of 1.34 (95% CI 1.04‐1.73) for MCI and 1.49 (95% CI 1.01‐2.21) for dementia. Further, FGCRS was dose‐dependently associated with gross chronic cerebral infarctions (odds ratio [OR] 1.08, 95% CI 1.01‐1.15) and cerebral atherosclerosis (OR 1.09, 95% CI 1.00‐1.18), but not with other brain pathologies.ConclusionHigher cardiovascular risk burden is associated with an increased risk of MCI and dementia. Cerebral infarctions and atherosclerosis might underlie this association.