Having coronary heart disease at a younger age is associated with an increased risk of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia, new study in the Journal of the American Heart Association finds.
Research highlights:
- People diagnosed with coronary heart disease have a significantly increased risk of developing dementia later in life, according to an analysis of data from more than 430,000 people from UK Biobank.
- Participants who had coronary heart disease before age 45 had a 36% risk of developing dementia and a 13% risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease compared to participants without coronary heart disease. %, the risk of developing vascular dementia increased by 78%.
- Men and women diagnosed with coronary heart disease before age 45 were significantly more likely to develop dementia than men and women without CHD.
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DALLAS, November 29, 2023 — Adults diagnosed with coronary heart disease, especially those under 45, may be at increased risk of developing dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and vascular dementia later in life. This was announced today, November 29, 2023. American Heart Association Journalan open-access peer-reviewed journal of the American Heart Association.
“Coronary heart disease has previously been associated with dementia risk in older adults. However, this remains to be seen whether the age at onset of coronary heart disease affects the risk of developing dementia later in life. It is believed to be the first large-scale study to examine Dr. Fanfan Zheng is senior study author and researcher at the School of Nursing, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical University, Beijing, China.
“Previous research has shown that cognitive decline accelerates in adults after a new diagnosis of coronary heart disease,” she said.
Researchers assessed the potential relationship between age at onset of coronary heart disease and the onset of dementia by analyzing health data from the UK Biobank.
The analysis revealed the following:
- Of the 432,667 participants in the study, 5,876 cases of dementia, 2,540 cases of Alzheimer’s disease, and 1,220 cases of vascular dementia occurred during an average follow-up of 13 years.
- Compared with participants without coronary heart disease, participants with coronary heart disease had an increased risk of developing dementia of any cause, Alzheimer’s disease, and vascular dementia.
- After adjusting the analyzes for demographic and lifestyle factors, participants with coronary heart disease had a 36% increased risk of developing dementia, a 13% increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, and vascular cognitive impairment. increased the risk of developing the disease by 78%.
- Early onset of coronary heart disease was associated with a 25% increased risk of dementia, a 29% increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease, and a 22% increased risk of vascular dementia.
- The risk of dementia increased in direct proportion to younger age at onset of coronary heart disease (for each 10-year decrease).
- Participants diagnosed with coronary heart disease before age 45 had a significantly higher risk of developing dementia compared to participants without coronary heart disease.
“What surprised us most was that there was a linear relationship between the age of onset of coronary heart disease and dementia. This means that early-onset coronary heart disease affects the brain. “This shows that it has a huge negative impact on health,” Zheng said. “With more people living longer and being diagnosed with coronary heart disease at a younger age, the number of people living with dementia is likely to increase significantly in the coming years. Experts need to be aware of people diagnosed with coronary heart disease at a young age. The next step is to improve cardiovascular risk early in life, which can promote brain health later in life. It’s up to you to decide whether to do it or not.”
Research details and background:
- The UK Biobank is a large biomedical database and research resource containing the health records of approximately 500,000 registered adults living in the UK who received care through the UK National Health Service from 2006 to 2010. Researchers accessed the data in May 2022 and analyzed health records from October to December 2022.
- The researchers analyzed the health records of a total of 432,667 adults (average age 57 years, 54.6% female when they became UK Biobank participants). 11.7% (50,685 adults) had coronary heart disease at enrollment and throughout follow-up. 240 adults with coronary heart disease were excluded because data on age at diagnosis of CHD was missing.
- The researchers adjusted their analyzes to account for demographic factors such as age, gender, race, and education. They also controlled for lifestyle factors such as smoking status, alcohol intake, and whether participants did at least 10 minutes of moderate or vigorous exercise at least twice a week. Health factors considered include baseline BMI; Levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. High blood pressure condition. Diabetic condition. Use of statins. and whether they are carriers of the APOE4 gene, which increases an individual’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
- Data on age at onset of coronary heart disease and subsequent development of dementia were collected over an average follow-up of 13 years.
- The researchers controlled for confounding bias that would suggest an association that might not exist. They then assessed the association between the development of coronary artery disease and the development of dementia in different age groups. The 50,445 participants with coronary heart disease were divided into three groups (<45 years) based on age at onset of heart disease. 45-59; We then matched subjects without coronary heart disease to assess the possible relationship between coronary heart disease and dementia.
Coronary heart disease caused 382,820 deaths in 2020, according to the American Heart Association’s 2023 Statistical Update. The estimated prevalence of dementia (isolated, excluding Alzheimer’s disease) among U.S. adults aged 65 and older was 10.5% in 2012. According to the Aging, Demographic, and Memory Study, a supplement to the long-running Health and Retirement Study in the United States, the rate is 7.3% for men and 12.9% for women.
Limitations of this study include that it is an observational study, meaning the results do not support causality, and that over 94% of the UK Biobank study population self-identified as white. Results may not be generalizable to people of other races or ethnicities that were included.
Co-authors, disclosure information, and funding sources are listed in the manuscript.
The study, published in the scientific journal of the American Heart Association, is peer-reviewed. The statements and conclusions in each manuscript are solely the opinions of the study authors and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of the Society. The Association makes no representations or warranties regarding its accuracy or reliability. The association is primarily funded by individuals. Foundations and corporations (including pharmaceuticals, device manufacturers, and other companies) also make contributions, which help fund specific programs and events for the association. The Society has strict policies in place to ensure that these relationships do not influence scientific content. Revenues from pharmaceutical companies, biotech companies, device manufacturers, health insurance companies, and overall financial information for the association can be found here.
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