The New York Times

Small Health Woes Increase Dementia Risk

By TARA PARKER-POPE

| July 13, 2011, 4:11 PM 

A runny nose, fallen arches and dentures aren't risk factors typically associated with brain health. But new research suggests that small health problems can add up, and the combined effect can increase a person's risk for dementia.

The findings, published on Wednesday in the Journal of Neurology, are based on an analysis of 7,239 people age 65 and older who took part in the Canadian Study of Health and Aging between 1992 and 2002. Investigators intentionally ignored traditional dementia risk factors like heart disease and diabetes and focused on seemingly inconsequential health issues often associated with aging, like sinus complaints, foot and ankle conditions, skin problems and trouble with vision, hearing or dental health.

Taken alone, none of these health conditions are related to a person's dementia risk. But when investigators combined these relatively minor physical ailments into a single "frailty index," they found a significant cumulative effect on dementia risk.

"We want to draw attention to the cumulative effects of small deficits, which individually may not be associated with anything, but they can still tote up to give rise to an important risk factor," said Dr. Kenneth Rockwood, professor of medicine at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. "To the general public, it means that trying to maintain good health for as long as possible, not only do you have good health but lower risk of dementia in late life."

In the study, each extra health problem increased an otherwise health person's risk of developing dementia by 3 percent, compared with a healthy person without any minor complaints. For instance, a person who began the study with no health complaints had an 18 percent risk of developing dementia over the next decade. By comparison, an otherwise healthy person with eight minor health complaints had a 30 percent risk of developing dementia over the course of the study. A dozen small health complaints increased risk to 40 percent.

It's not clear why small health complaints appear to take a cumulative toll on the brain. It may be that the complaints are indicators of overall poor health that also affects the brain. However, Dr. Rockwood says it is also likely that people at risk for dementia have a flawed repair system, and as a result are more likely to accumulate small health problems.


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