Datensatz

Zusammenfassung

Background To understand the potential for early intervention and
prevention measures in Alzheimer's disease, the association between risk
factors and early pathological change needs to be assessed. Hence, the
aim of this study was to determine whether risk factors of Alzheimer's
clinical syndrome (clinical AD), such as body mass index (BMI), are
associated with A beta misfolding in blood, a strong risk marker for AD
among older adults. Methods Information on risk factors and blood
samples were collected at baseline in the ESTHER study, a
population-based cohort study of older adults (age 50-75 years) in
Germany. A beta misfolding in blood plasma was analyzed using an
immuno-infrared-sensor in a total of 872 participants in a nested
case-control design among incident dementia cases and matched controls.
Associations between risk factors and A beta misfolding were assessed by
multiple logistic regression. For comparison, the association between
the risk factors and AD incidence during 17 years of follow-up was
investigated in parallel among 5987 cohort participants. Results An
inverse association with A beta misfolding was seen for BMI at age 50
based on reported weight history (aOR 0.64, 95% CI 0.43-0.96, p = 0.03).
Similar but not statistically significant associations were seen for BMI
at baseline (i.e., mean age 68) and at age 40. No statistically
significant associations with A beta misfolding were found for other
risk factors, such as diabetes, smoking, and physical activity. On the
other hand, low physical activity was associated with a significantly
reduced risk of developing clinical AD compared to physical inactivity.
Conclusions Our results support that AD pathology may be detectable and
associated with reduced weight even in middle adulthood, many years
before clinical diagnosis of AD. Physical activity might reduce the risk
of onset of AD symptoms.