Blood profile of 35 years old associated with subsequent Alzheimer’s disease

Longitudinal data from the Framingham Heart Study show that high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and triglyceride levels in adolescents up to the age of 35 were associated with Alzheimer’s disease decades later.

The risk of Alzheimer’s disease decreased by 15.4% in early adulthood (35-50 years) and 17.8% in middle-aged adults (51-60 years) for every 15 mg / dL increase in HDL cholesterol, Xiaoling Zhang said. , MD, PhD reports.Boston University School of Medicine, and co-author Alzheimer’s disease and dementia..

They added that a 15 mg / dL increase in blood glucose measured in middle age was associated with a 14.5% increase in risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Triglyceride levels were associated with Alzheimer’s disease only in the early adult group. The findings remained significant after adjusting the treatment.

“These findings are the first to show that cardiovascular risk factors, including HDL, which have not been consistently reported as strong risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease, contribute to the future risk of Alzheimer’s disease starting at age 35. “Mr. Zhang said. statement.

“Our findings confirm other studies linking cholesterol and glucose levels measured in the blood to future risks of Alzheimer’s disease, but these associations are far more than previously thought. For the first time, we have shown that it will spread early, “co-author Lindsay Farrer added. Also a PhD at Boston University.

Researchers have investigated the effects of vascular risk factors on the development of Alzheimer’s disease over time. Descendants of Framingham Heart Study Participants, a group that has been evaluated since 1971. Data on lipid fraction, glucose, blood pressure, body mass index, and smoking were positively obtained from participants over nine 4-yearly tests.

A model adjusted for age, gender, and education, for each risk factor measured in each study, in three adult age groups (early adults (35-50 years, median 41), middle-aged adults (51-60 years,) Tested with a median of 54)). ), And late adults (61-70 years, median 63.5).

A total of 271 participants (167 females and 104 males) diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease were included in the analysis as cases. Of these, 225 had no stroke, 24 had Alzheimer’s disease and stroke, and 24 had a mixture of Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia. Persons diagnosed with non-Alzheimer’s disease were excluded. The controls included 4,867 cognitively normal participants.

The average follow-up period for people in the early, middle, and late age groups was 35.2, 25.8, and 18.5, respectively. As participants grew older, they tended to have higher levels of triglycerides and glucose, higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and lower HDL cholesterol levels. They were also more likely to be treated for diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidemia.

Incident Alzheimer’s disease was negatively associated with HDL cholesterol for every 15 mg / dL increase in early adulthood (HR 0.85, 95% CI 0.72-0.99,). P= 0.041) and middle age (HR 0.82, 95% CI 0.70-0.96, P= 0.014). This association remained significant with similar effect sizes in the middle-aged group when adjusted for the treatment of dyslipidemia (the middle-aged group).P= 0.022).

The analysis also showed:

• Triglyceride levels were associated with Alzheimer’s disease only in the previous early adult group (HR 1.33, 95% CI 1.02-1.57, P= 0.0013) or later (HR 1.30, 95% CI 1.10-1.54, P= 0.0018) Adjustment of treatment for hyperlipidemia
• Middle-aged blood glucose was previously associated with Alzheimer’s disease per 15 mg / dL increase (HR 1.15, 95% CI 1.06-1.23, P= 0.00029) or later (HR 1.18, 95% CI 1.08-1.29, P= 0.00036) Adjustment of diabetes treatment
• Diastolic blood pressure in late adulthood was previously associated with Alzheimer’s disease with an increase of 10 mm (HR 1.14, 95% CI 1.01-1.29,). P= 0.041) or later (HR 1.14, 95% CI 1.00-1.29, P= 0.044) Treatment adjustment
• Other vascular risk factors such as low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, total cholesterol, BMI, smoking, and systolic blood pressure were not associated with Alzheimer-type dementia at any stage of adulthood (P> 0.05)

Future onset of Alzheimer’s disease is progressively higher, with people showing blood glucose levels in the range of prediabetes (100-126 mg / dL) and diabetes (> 126 mg / dL) in early adulthood and middle age. It can occur early between.

“Interventions aimed at cholesterol and glucose management that begin in early adulthood help maximize cognitive health in later years,” Farrer suggested.

The idea is that there is an increased risk of coronary heart disease and metabolic syndrome. Decreased cognitive ability At the age of 55, Zhang and co-authors said.

“But our results are whether the effects of these risk factors on the development of Alzheimer’s disease can be particularly damaging to early adulthood and middle age, or longer-accumulated risk exposure. I don’t distinguish whether it reflects or not, “they wrote.

The researchers admitted that the study had some limitations. All participants were Caucasian and some of the initial measurements of lipids and glucose were not under fasting conditions. In addition, the findings are based on an analysis of one-off measurements.