2023-12-27 13:25:00
Scientists analyzed data from more than 350 thousand participants in the British Biobank and found that 15 factors were significantly associated with a higher risk of developing dementia in young people (less than 65 years of age). How reported V JAMA Neurologythe main risk factors were low level of education, low socioeconomic status, and the presence of gene variants APOE4 and both non-drinking and alcoholism.
Dementia, which develops in people under 65 years of age, called early. According to various estimates, the global incidence of early dementia amounts to 3.9 million people. And, although the prevalence of this type of dementia is low compared to the classic version of this neurodegenerative disease, it is stronger influences on people due to early onset disabilities.
Identifying risk factors (modifiable and non-modifiable) for early-onset dementia might help in developing preventive interventions. Early research focused primarily on genetic risk factors, with variants in the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene playing a leading role. However, little is known regarding modifiable risk factors for early-onset dementia.
Stevie Hendriks from the University of Maastricht, together with colleagues from the UK, analyzed data from 356,052 participants in the British Biobank (197,036 of them were women). The average age of the sample was 54.6 years. There were 485 deaths over 2,891,409 person-years (mean follow-up, 8.12 years; median follow-up, 9.18 years). Of the 39 risk factors initially selected, 30 were significantly associated with early-onset dementia.
People with higher levels of education took less risk than people with lower levels of education. The risk of early dementia increased in people with low socioeconomic status, and moderate to high alcohol consumption had a weaker association with early dementia than abstinence. At the same time, alcoholism increased the risk of early development of dementia. In terms of social isolation, participants who interacted with friends or family once a month or less had a higher risk of developing early-onset dementia than those who visited friends or family more often. The risk of early onset dementia also increased with vitamin D deficiency (vitamin levels less than 10 nanograms per milliliter) and high levels of C-reactive protein (more than one milligram per deciliter).
Notably, higher hand grip strength was associated with a lower risk of early onset dementia. But hearing loss, orthostatic hypotension, stroke, diabetes, heart disease and depression, as well as various gene variants APOE4 were associated with a high risk of early onset dementia. In addition, some risk factors depended on gender: for example, men with diabetes had a higher risk of developing dementia than men without diabetes, and for women there was no statistical association with diabetes at all. Women with high levels of C-reactive protein had a higher risk of developing dementia compared with women with low levels of the protein, while in men, protein had no effect on the risk of developing dementia (in all risk factor comparisons, statistical significance reached p values < 0 .05).
Overall, this study shows that there are modifiable risk factors for early-onset dementia. Therefore, it is possible to develop comprehensive programs for the prevention of early dementia by targeting these risk factors.
It is known that air pollution is a risk factor for the development of dementia, but little is known regarding the direct mechanism of this effect. But that’s regarding to change: in 2024, British scientists will conduct a clinical trial in which volunteers with a family history of dementia will inhale a variety of air pollutants – wood smoke, exhaust fumes, cleaning products and cooking emissions.
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