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Metabolic syndrome may increase risk for mild cognitive impairment, dementia
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Metabolic syndrome was associated with elevated incidence of mild cognitive impairment and subsequent progression to dementia, according to study findings.
Researchers conducted a prospective, longitudinal study of 1,519 participants (mean age, 64.9 years; 64.8% women) to investigate the relationship between metabolic syndrome and its related CV risk factors and incidence of mild cognitive impairment, as well as progression from mild cognitive impairment to dementia.
All participants at baseline were aged at least 55 years and had no cognitive impairment. Follow-up included 5,146 person-years, or 3.4 person-years per participant. During the study, there were 141 incident cases of mild cognitive impairment.
Tze Pin Ng, MD, and colleagues found that the following characteristics were associated with elevated risk for mild cognitive impairment:
- metabolic syndrome (HR = 1.46; 95% CI, 1.02-2.09);
- central obesity (HR = 1.41; 95% CI, 1.01-1.98);
- type 2 diabetes (HR = 2.84; 95% CI, 1.92-4.19);
- dyslipidemia (HR = 1.48; 95% CI, 1.01-2.15); and
- at least three component CV risk factors in the same individual (HR = 1.58; 95% CI, 1.13-2.33).
Ng, from Gerontological Research Programme, department of psychological medicine, National University of Singapore, and colleagues also found that the metabolic syndrome was associated with increased risk for mild cognitive impairment progression to dementia (HR = 4.25; 95% CI, 1.29-14), as was type 2 diabetes (HR = 2.47; 95% CI, 1.92-4.19) and at least three component CV risk factors in the same individual (HR = 4.92; 95% CI, 1.39-17.4).
“Identifying individuals with diabetes or the [metabolic syndrome] with or without [mild cognitive impairment] is a promising approach in early interventions to prevent or slow progression to dementia,” Ng and colleagues wrote. “Further studies of the association of the [metabolic syndrome] with neurocognitive subtypes of [mild cognitive impairment] or etiological subtypes of [Alzheimer’s disease] or vascular dementia are needed.” – by Erik Swain
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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