Men with heart disease, obesity and diabetes may have an increased risk of dementia 10 years earlier than women; Study revealed

Men with heart disease risk factors such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure and smoking may have declining brain health, leading to dementia 10 years earlier than women, a study found Wednesday.

The findings of a long-term study published online in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry revealed that dementia in men with heart disease risk factors may begin a decade earlier – in their mid-50s to mid-70s. Till – Similarly affected women who are most susceptible are those in their mid-60s to mid-70s. Researchers at Imperial College London, UK, found that the weakest areas of the brain are those involved in the processing of auditory information, aspects of visual perception, emotional processing and memory.

They noted that the harmful effects were just as pronounced in people who did not have the high-risk APOE4 gene — a genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease — as in those who did. “The detrimental effects of cardiovascular risk were widespread throughout cortical regions, highlighting how cardiovascular risk can impair a range of cognitive functions,” the researchers said. The study involved 34,425 participants from the UK Biobank, all of whom had both stomach and brain scans. Their average age was 63 years, but ranged from 45 to 82 years.

The results showed that both men and women with increased levels of abdominal fat and visceral adipose tissue had lower brain gray matter volume. The researchers said high cardiovascular risk and obesity led to a gradual decline in brain volume over several decades. The team thus stressed the need to target “modifiable cardiovascular risk factors, including obesity” to treat or prevent neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's.

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The study also emphasizes “the importance of aggressively targeting cardiovascular risk factors before age 55 to prevent neurodegeneration and Alzheimer's disease.” They may also prevent other cardiovascular events, such as myocardial infarction (heart attack) and stroke. Although the study is observational and no firm conclusions can be drawn, targeting cardiovascular risk and obesity early may be important.

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