Add it up: Could this test equal a way to determine dementia risk?
Study finds scores on dementia test linked to changes in brain structure, cognition

Date:
August 25, 2021
Source:
American Academy of Neurology
Summary:
People whose scores on a dementia risk test indicated a less brain-
healthy lifestyle, including smoking, high blood pressure and a
poor diet, may also have the following: lower scores on thinking
skills tests, more changes on brain scans and a higher risk of
cognitive impairment, according to a new study.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== People whose scores on a dementia risk test indicated a less brain-healthy lifestyle, including smoking, high blood pressure and a poor diet, may
also have the following: lower scores on thinking skills tests, more
changes on brain scans and a higher risk of cognitive impairment. That's according to a new study published in the August 25, 2021, online
issue of Neurology(R), the medical journal of the American Academy
of Neurology. The study also found that in men, the test scores were
associated with poor memory function and markers of brain shrinkage.


========================================================================== "Dementia risk scores might be useful to help identify people at higher
risk of dementia earlier, so that potential lifestyle factors can be
addressed earlier and monitored more closely," said study author Sebastian Ko"hler PhD, of Maastricht University, the Netherlands. "Our study found
that a substantial proportion of brain changes might be attributable to
risk factors that can be modified." The study involved 4,164 people with
an average age of 59. All participants took a test called the "Lifestyle
for Brain Health" (LIBRA). The total score reflects a person's potential
for developing dementia. This study took into account 11 out of 12
lifestyle factors on the test, including high blood pressure, heart
disease, smoking, diet and physical activity. Higher scores reflect
higher dementia risk, with scores ranging from -2.7 to +12.7. Overall,
the study group had an average score of 1.19. Researchers divided the participants into three groups: those with low risk of dementia, with
an average score of -1.47, those with medium risk, with an average score
of 1.20, and those with high risk, with an average score of 4.6.

Participants in the study took tests of memory and other thinking
skills, such as information processing speed, executive function and
attention. Researchers also looked at brain scans for signs of cerebral
small vessel disease, which are signs of vascular brain damage often
seen in patients who have dementia.

They also looked for changes in volumes of white matter and gray matter.

Researchers found that people who were in the high-risk group on the LIBRA test, indicating a less brain-healthy lifestyle, had higher volumes of
brain lesions, 1.27 ml compared to 0.48 ml for those in the lowest risk
group. The high-risk group also had lower scores on two tests of thinking: information processing speed and executive function and attention.

Only in men, however, did researchers find associations between higher
scores on the LIBRA test and lower volumes of grey matter, as well as
lower scores on tests of memory.

"More research is needed to confirm these findings and determine why there
were differences between men and women," Ko"hler said. "It's exciting
that a simple test score may indeed be an index of brain health. We
need to learn whether people can improve their scores by making changes
in their diet, increasing physical activity or limiting alcohol to low-to-moderate use." The study does not prove that lifestyle test
scores predict dementia, it only shows an association.

The study was supported by the European Regional Development Fund,
the Province of Limburg, the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and
Climate Policy, the Weijerhorst Foundation, the Pearl String Diabetes Initiative, Maastricht University, the Annadal Foundation and Health
Foundation Limburg, all in the Netherlands.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by American_Academy_of_Neurology. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Irene S Heger, Kay Deckers, Miranda T Schram, Coen DA Stehouwer,
Pieter C
Dagnelie, Carla JH van der Kallen, Annemarie Koster, Simone JPM
Eussen, Jacobus FA Jansen, Frans RJ Verhey, Martin PJ van Boxtel,
Sebastian Ko"hler. Associations of the Lifestyle for Brain Health
Index With Structural Brain Changes and Cognition: Results From the
Maastricht Study. Neurology, 2021; 10.1212/WNL.0000000000012572 DOI:
10.1212/ WNL.0000000000012572 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/08/210825163607.htm

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