Cardiometabolic Risk Factors Account for More Than One-Third of Dementia Risk

THURSDAY, June 5, 2025 (HealthDay News) — A substantial number of U.S. dementia cases could be eliminated by mitigating modifiable cardiometabolic risk factors, according to a study published online in the May issue of Alzheimer’s & Dementia.

George K. Karway, Ph.D., from the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, and colleagues used data from roughly 20.8 million Medicare beneficiaries (756,321 with incident dementia and about 20.03 million controls) to examine the impact of cardiometabolic diseases on dementia risk.

The researchers found that the nationwide combined weighted population-attributable fractions for the eight cardiometabolic diseases was 37 percent overall, with hypertension (9.6 percent), ischemic heart disease (6.7 percent), and chronic heart failure (5.7 percent) having the greatest attributable fractions of dementia cases. The Southeastern United States had the greatest fraction of county-level dementia cases attributed to cardiometabolic diseases.

“A substantial number of dementia cases could be eliminated by mitigating modifiable cardiometabolic risk factors, especially in U.S. counties with a high risk of dementia attributed to these risk factors. More realistically, a 15 percent proportional reduction in these risk factors would reduce incident dementia cases in the population by an estimated 6.3 percent,” coauthor Brad Racette, M.D., also of the Barrow Neurological Institute, said in a statement. “Regional variation in dementia burden can be explained partially by the disproportionate concentration of obesity, lack of physical activity, and unhealthy diet among those living in Southern states.”

Abstract/Full Text