Affiliations: [a] Department of Neurology, Qingdao Municipal Hospital, School of Medicine, Qingdao University, China | [b] Department of Neurology, Qingdao Municipal Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, China | [c] Department of Neurology, Qingdao Municipal Hospital, College of Medicine and Pharmaceutics, Ocean University of China, China
Correspondence:
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Correspondence to: Lan Tan and Jin-Tai Yu, Department of Neurology, Qingdao Municipal Hospital, School of Medicine, Qingdao University, No. 5 Donghai Middle Road, Qingdao, Shandong Province 266071, PR China. Tel.: +86 532 8890 5659; Fax: +86 532 85968434; E-mails: dr.tanlan@163.com (Lan Tan); yu-jintai@163.com (Jin-Tai Yu).
Abstract: Background/Objective:We examine whether midlife vascular risk factors (VRFs) are associated with increased risk of incident Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in a systematic review and meta-analysis of published cohort studies. Methods:Original cohort studies were included if they reported adjusted combined odds ratio (COR) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) or enough information to quantify the association between risk for AD in late-life and baseline VRFs of midlife. Results:There were positive and significant associations between high blood pressure (COR 1.31; 95% CI: 1.01–1.70), hypercholesterolemia (COR 1.72; 95% CI: 1.32–2.24), obesity (COR 1.88; 95% CI: 1.32–2.69), and diabetes mellitus in midlife (COR 1.4; 95% CI: 1.25–1.57). Smoking and hyperhomocysteinemia (although only one high-quality paper) were also associated with an increased risk of AD generally. Conclusions:These results strengthen the epidemiological evidence that VRFs of midlife significantly increase risk for AD.
