Millions more Americans could be at risk of developing early-onset dementia after scientists discovered a possible new cause.
Researchers from South Korea found having a little known condition known as metabolic syndrome raised the chances a person will develop early-onset dementia (a diagnosis before the age of 65) by 24 percent.
Metabolic syndrome is diagnosed when someone has three or more of the following: belly fat, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high triglycerides, or low levels of ‘good’ HDL cholesterol.
But researchers found the risk climbed with every additional condition — people with all five had a 70 percent higher risk.
Researchers didn’t provide an explanation for the possible link, but obesity, high blood pressure, low HDL and high blood sugar – especially in people with diabetes – have all been linked to an increased risk of dementia.
It is posited these conditions lead to a buildup of plaque in the arteries, which can potentially damage brain cells, as well as block blood flow to brain and reduce the body’s ability to clear harmful waste. They may also contribute to the accumulation of amyloid and tau proteins – two substances strongly linked to Alzheimer’s disease.
Conversely, high triglyceride levels have actually been associated with a lower risk of dementia.
Researchers said their findings were sobering, given the prevalence of metabolic syndrome has been increasing in recent decades.
Metabolic syndrome is a group of conditions in which someone has three or more of five characteristics, including high triglycerides (a type of fat in the blood), high blood pressure or high blood sugar
The above shows the incidence of early-onset dementia among people with metabolic syndrome (pick line) and without (black line)
An exact number for metabolic syndrome diagnoses isn’t known, but a 2020 study published in JAMA found about 37 percent of US adults were estimated to have metabolic syndrome in 2016, compared to 32 percent in 2011 – the most recent comparable figures available.
At the same time, 640,000 Americans have early-onset dementia, a number that is also rising.
And overall cases of the disease are also increasing. There were 514,000 new cases of dementia among Americans in 2020, but that will rise to 730,000 in 2030 and 1.03million in 2060.
Researchers from Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital in Anyang, South Korea, reviewed health insurance data from 2million people between 40 and 60 years old.
They analyzed records from doctors appointments that included waist circumference, blood pressure, blood sugar and triglyceride and cholesterol levels.
Of those included in the study, published in the journal Neurology, 25 percent had metabolic syndrome.
Over a follow-up period of eight years, nearly 9,000 people – 0.45 percent – developed some form of dementia before the age of 65.
Data revealed women with metabolic syndrome were at a higher risk of early-onset dementia – 34 percent – compared to men – 15 percent.
Additionally, people in their 40s were more at risk than people in their 50s.
Currently nearly 8million Americans currently have some form of dementia and there are around 500,000 new cases diagnosed per year.
Alzheimer’s is the most common form – with 7million diagnoses – but as the aging population of the US continues to grow, so will diagnoses. By 2050, the number of Alzheimer’s patients is projected to rise to nearly 13 million.
Estimates for the growth previously projected the number of Alzheimer’s patients to rise to nearly 13million by 2050 (illustrated above), but NYU’s new research has far higher predictions
While the main cause of the dementia is still debated, scientists believe the disease is likely to be the result of an abnormal build-up of proteins – amyloid and tau – in and around brain cells.
In Alzheimer’s patients, amyloid proteins are not effectively cleared from the body and eventually form plaques in the brain.
Additionally, tau proteins detach from neurons and form tangles, causing neurons to die.
When neurons die, messages can’t be delivered as effectively throughout the brain, which scientists believe is what causes the thinking difficulties in dementia.
Genetics also play a strong role in the risk of Alzheimer’s and in 2022 researchers identified 31 new genes that appear to affect processes that play a role in the disease.
There is no cure for dementia – only medications and therapies to control symptoms.
To ward off metabolic syndrome, the researchers said people should follow a healthy diet, exercise regularly, maintain a healthy weight, quit smoking and reduce stress.
And while this study has begun to look at the relationship between metabolic syndrome and early dementia, study author Dr Minwoo Lee said more needs to be done.
He added: ‘Future research that follows people over longer periods of time and uses brain scans to look for biomarkers of dementia is needed to confirm and expand upon our findings.’
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .