Modifiable Lifestyle Risk Factors for Alzheimer's Disease

2010 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 803-811 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leon Flicker
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Lifestyle Risk Factors ◽  
Lifestyle Risk

scholarly journals The Neurochemistry of Alzheimer’s Disease: One of the Most Common Causes of Reduced Capability in the Adult Population

2022 ◽  
pp. 81-93
Author(s):  
Kaj Blennow ◽  
Henrik Zetterberg
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Susceptibility Gene ◽  
Tau Pathology ◽  
Blood Biomarkers ◽  
Neurofilament Light ◽  
Risk Profiling ◽  
Lifestyle Risk ◽  
Intervention Trials

AbstractAlzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia and is characterised by the triad of amyloid plaques, tau pathology and neurodegeneration. Except for a strong association with the susceptibility gene, specifically the apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 allele, the pathogenesis of the most common age-related sporadic form of AD is largely unknown. However, several genetic and environmental risk factors have been proposed. A potential problem is that most population-based studies on AD risk-profiling have not used biomarkers reflecting amyloid and tau pathology to classify patients and controls. Given the complex pathophysiology of late-onset AD and the difficulties in correctly diagnosing AD on purely clinical grounds, this introduces a risk of misclassification of both control subjects and clinically diagnosed AD cases. Importantly, in recent years, there has been a very successful development of blood biomarkers for AD pathophysiologies, including brain amyloidosis (amyloid β ratio), tau pathology (phosphorylated tau) and neurodegeneration (neurofilament light). Numerous studies have shown these biomarkers to correlate with amyloid and tau pathology load evaluated by PET and with MRI measures of neurodegeneration, and to predict future cognitive decline. The employment of blood biomarkers in epidemiological studies may foster an understanding of which and how specifically lifestyle risk factors are linked to AD, and repeated blood sampling in intervention trials may provide evidence as to whether controlling lifestyle factors may affect specific AD pathophysiologies.

Elucidating the risk factors for progression from amyloid-negative amnestic mild cognitive impairment to dementia

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyung-Ji Kim ◽  
Jae-Hong Lee ◽  
E-nae Cheong ◽  
Sung-Eun Chung ◽  
Sungyang Jo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Amyloid Pet ◽  
Clinical Progression ◽  
Amnestic Mci

Background: Amyloid PET allows for the assessment of amyloid β status in the brain, distinguishing true Alzheimer’s disease from Alzheimer’s disease-mimicking conditions. Around 15–20% of patients with clinically probable Alzheimer’s disease have been found to have no significant Alzheimer’s pathology on amyloid PET. However, a limited number of studies had been conducted this subpopulation in terms of clinical progression. Objective: We investigated the risk factors that could affect the progression to dementia in patients with amyloid-negative amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Methods: This study was a single-institutional, retrospective cohort study of patients over the age of 50 with amyloidnegative amnestic MCI who visited the memory clinic of Asan Medical Center with a follow-up period of more than 36 months. All participants underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), detailed neuropsychological testing, and fluorine-18[F18]-florbetaben amyloid PET. Results: During the follow-up period, 39 of 107 patients progressed to dementia from amnestic MCI. In comparison with the stationary group, the progressed group had a more severe impairment in verbal and visual episodic memory function and hippocampal atrophy, which showed an Alzheimer’s disease-like pattern despite the lack of evidence for significant Alzheimer’s disease pathology. Voxel-based morphometric MRI analysis revealed that the progressed group had a reduced gray matter volume in the bilateral cerebellar cortices, right temporal cortex, and bilateral insular cortices. Conclusion: Considering the lack of evidence of amyloid pathology, clinical progression of these subpopulation may be caused by other neuropathologies such as TDP-43, abnormal tau or alpha synuclein that lead to neurodegeneration independent of amyloid-driven pathway. Further prospective studies incorporating biomarkers of Alzheimer’s diseasemimicking dementia are warranted.

Novel Machine-Learned Approach for COVID-19 Resource Allocation: A Tool for Evaluating Community Susceptibility (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil Kale
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Risk Factors ◽  
Insurance Coverage ◽  
Premature Mortality ◽  
Health Insurance Coverage ◽  
Heart Attacks ◽  
Lifestyle Risk Factors ◽  
The People ◽  
Potential Risk Factors ◽  
Lifestyle Risk

BACKGROUND Despite worldwide efforts to develop an effective COVID vaccine, it is quite evident that initial supplies will be limited. Therefore, it is important to develop methods that will ensure that the COVID vaccine is allocated to the people who are at major risk until there is a sufficient global supply. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to develop a machine-learning tool that could be applied to assess the risk in Massachusetts towns based on community-wide social, medical, and lifestyle risk factors. METHODS I compiled Massachusetts town data for 29 potential risk factors, such as the prevalence of preexisting comorbid conditions like COPD and social factors such as racial composition, and implemented logistic regression to predict the amount of COVID cases in each town. RESULTS Of the 29 factors, 14 were found to be significant (p < 0.1) indicators: poverty, food insecurity, lack of high school education, lack of health insurance coverage, premature mortality, population, population density, recent population growth, Asian percentage, high-occupancy housing, and preexisting prevalence of cancer, COPD, overweightness, and heart attacks. The machine-learning approach is 80% accurate in the state of Massachusetts and finds the 9 highest risk communities: Lynn, Brockton, Revere, Randolph, Lowell, New Bedford, Everett, Waltham, and Fitchburg. The 5 most at-risk counties are Suffolk, Middlesex, Bristol, Norfolk, and Plymouth. CONCLUSIONS With appropriate data, the tool could evaluate risk in other communities, or even enumerate individual patient susceptibility. A ranking of communities by risk may help policymakers ensure equitable allocation of limited doses of the COVID vaccine.

scholarly journals The Prevalence of Insulin Resistance and the Associated Risk Factors in a Sample of 14–18-Year-Old Slovak Adolescents

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 909
Author(s):  
Jana Jurkovičová ◽  
Katarína Hirošová ◽  
Diana Vondrová ◽  
Martin Samohýl ◽  
Zuzana Štefániková ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Risk Factors ◽  
Insulin Resistance ◽  
Venous Blood ◽  
Significant Risk ◽  
Lifestyle Changes ◽  
Skewed Distribution ◽  
Model Assessment ◽  
Lifestyle Risk Factors ◽  
Lifestyle Risk

The prevalence of cardiometabolic risk factors has increased in Slovakian adolescents as a result of serious lifestyle changes. This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the prevalence of insulin resistance (IR) and the associations with cardiometabolic and selected lifestyle risk factors in a sample of Slovak adolescents. In total, 2629 adolescents (45.8% males) aged between 14 and 18 years were examined in the study. Anthropometric parameters, blood pressure (BP), and resting heart rate were measured; fasting venous blood samples were analyzed; and homeostasis model assessment (HOMA)-insulin resistance (IR) was calculated. For statistical data processing, the methods of descriptive and analytical statistics for normal and skewed distribution of variables were used. The mean HOMA-IR was 2.45 ± 1.91, without a significant sex differences. IR (cut-off point for HOMA-IR = 3.16) was detected in 18.6% of adolescents (19.8% males, 17.6% females). IR was strongly associated with overweight/obesity (especially central) and with almost all monitored cardiometabolic factors, except for total cholesterol (TC) and systolic BP in females. The multivariate model selected variables such as low level of physical fitness, insufficient physical activity, breakfast skipping, a small number of daily meals, frequent consumption of sweetened beverages, and low educational level of fathers as significant risk factors of IR in adolescents. Recognizing the main lifestyle risk factors and early IR identification is important in terms of the performance of preventive strategies. Weight reduction, regular physical activity, and healthy eating habits can improve insulin sensitivity and decrease the incidence of metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease (CVD).

scholarly journals Examining the possible causal relationship between lung function, COPD and Alzheimer’s disease: a Mendelian randomisation study

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. e000759
Author(s):  
Daniel Higbee ◽  
Raquel Granell ◽  
Esther Walton ◽  
Roxanna Korologou-Linden ◽  
George Davey Smith ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Lung Function ◽  
Causal Relationship ◽  
Mendelian Randomisation ◽  
P Value ◽  
Unmeasured Confounding ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Shared Risk

RationaleLarge retrospective case-control studies have reported an association between chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), reduced lung function and an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease. However, it remains unclear if these diseases are causally linked, or due to shared risk factors. Conventional observational epidemiology suffers from unmeasured confounding and reverse causation. Additional analyses addressing causality are required.ObjectivesTo examine a causal relationship between COPD, lung function and Alzheimer’s disease.MethodsUsing two-sample Mendelian randomisation, we used single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) identified in a genome wide association study (GWAS) for lung function as instrumental variables (exposure). Additionally, we used SNPs discovered in a GWAS for COPD in those with moderate to very severe obstruction. The effect of these SNPs on Alzheimer’s disease (outcome) was taken from a GWAS based on a sample of 24 807 patients and 55 058 controls.ResultsWe found minimal evidence for an effect of either lung function (OR: 1.02 per SD; 95% CI 0.91 to 1.13; p value 0.68) or liability for COPD on Alzheimer’s disease (OR: 0.97 per SD; 95% CI 0.92 to 1.03; p value 0.40).ConclusionNeither reduced lung function nor liability COPD are likely to be causally associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer’s, any observed association is likely due to unmeasured confounding. Scientific attention and health prevention policy may be better focused on overlapping risk factors, rather than attempts to reduce risk of Alzheimer’s disease by targeting impaired lung function or COPD directly.

scholarly journals Smoking, drinking, diet and physical activity—modifiable lifestyle risk factors and their associations with age to first chronic disease

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan Ng ◽  
Rinku Sutradhar ◽  
Zhan Yao ◽  
Walter P Wodchis ◽  
Laura C Rosella
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Chronic Disease ◽  
Chronic Diseases ◽  
Lifestyle Factors ◽  
Competing Risk ◽  
Chronic Obstructive ◽  
Common Disease ◽  
Heavy Smoking ◽  
Lifestyle Risk Factors ◽  
Lifestyle Risk

AbstractBackgroundThis study examined the incidence of a person’s first diagnosis of a selected chronic disease, and the relationships between modifiable lifestyle risk factors and age to first of six chronic diseases.MethodsOntario respondents from 2001 to 2010 of the Canadian Community Health Survey were followed up with administrative data until 2014 for congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive respiratory disease, diabetes, lung cancer, myocardial infarction and stroke. By sex, the cumulative incidence function of age to first chronic disease was calculated for the six chronic diseases individually and compositely. The associations between modifiable lifestyle risk factors (alcohol, body mass index, smoking, diet, physical inactivity) and age to first chronic disease were estimated using cause-specific Cox proportional hazards models and Fine-Gray competing risk models.ResultsDiabetes was the most common disease. By age 70.5 years (2015 world life expectancy), 50.9% of females and 58.1% of males had at least one disease and few had a death free of the selected diseases (3.4% females; 5.4% males). Of the lifestyle factors, heavy smoking had the strongest association with the risk of experiencing at least one chronic disease (cause-specific hazard ratio = 3.86; 95% confidence interval = 3.46, 4.31). The lifestyle factors were modelled for each disease separately, and the associations varied by chronic disease and sex.ConclusionsWe found that most individuals will have at least one of the six chronic diseases before dying. This study provides a novel approach using competing risk methods to examine the incidence of chronic diseases relative to the life course and how their incidences are associated with lifestyle behaviours.

scholarly journals Physical Mistreatment in Persons with Alzheimer’s Disease

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carla VandeWeerd ◽  
Gregory J. Paveza ◽  
Margaret Walsh ◽  
Jaime Corvin
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Conflict Resolution ◽  
Physical Violence ◽  
Emotional Health ◽  
Alcohol Problems ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Conflict Resolution Strategy ◽  
Resolution Strategy

Physical mistreatment has been estimated to affect 2 million older persons each year and dramatically affects health outcomes. While researchers have attempted to examine risk factors for specific forms of abuse, many have been able to focus on only victim or perpetrator characteristics, or a limited number of psychosocial variables at any one time. Additionally, data on risk factors for subgroups such as persons with Alzheimer’s disease who may have heightened and/or unique risk profiles has also been limited. This paper examines risk for physical violence in caregiver/patient dyads who participated in the Aggression and Violence in Community-Based Alzheimer’s Families Grant. Data were collected via in-person interview and mailed survey and included demographics as well as measures of violence, physical and emotional health, and health behaviors. Logistic regression analysis indicated that caregivers providing care to elders with high levels of functional impairment or dementia symptoms, or who had alcohol problems, were more likely to use violence as a conflict resolution strategy, as were caregivers who were providing care to elders who used violence against them. By contrast, caregivers with high self-esteem were less likely to use violence as a conflict resolution strategy. Significant interaction effects were also noted.

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