New research into predicting who is at the highest of risk developing Alzheimer's disease was presented at the International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders, held in Madrid from July 15-20, 2006. A new "Dementia Risk Score," appears able to predict risk 20 years down the line for people who are currently middle-aged, a new study finds. The Madrid conference is sponsored by the Alzheimer's Association.
Largely a disease of aging, Alzheimer's rates are expected to increase dramatically as the Baby Boom generation get older. According to the Alzheimer's Association, about 4.5 million Americans currently have the disease, a number that's already doubled since 1980.
Researchers in Sweden looked at data on over 1,400 people participating in a cardiovascular trial to develop the Dementia Risk Score. The participants had been examined once at midlife and then again when they were about 70 years old. The research team found several factors predicted onset of dementia, including: advancing age, high systolic blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, physical inactivity and low education. A higher score at midlife correlated with an increased risk of developing dementia later on.
Only one percent of those who had a very low midlife risk score went on to develop dementia, while 16.4 percent of those in the highest risk score developed the condition. "The tool needs to be validated in another population and possibly further developed before being adopted by clinicians", said study lead author Tiia Ngandu, a researcher with the Aging Research Center at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.
"But even at this early stage," Ngandu went on to say, "I believe that the Risk Score can be used both as a means to inform both physicians and general public about the important risk factors in dementia. And also it could probably be used to detect which individuals are most at risk." "Once people at high risk are identified, physicians can try to influence risk factors such as obesity and high blood pressure in the hope of preventing dementia," Ngandu added. For more information visit the Alzheimer's Association Website |
