Vascular factors and dementia. Data from the "Faenza Project"

Objectives: To establish whether hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, over-weight and peripheral atherosclerosis were related to dementia in an elderly Italian population. Metbods: The "Faenza Project" is a population-based study on 7930 subjects (61-107 years) who were clinically evaluated for dementia (DSM-III-R) and presence of vascular factors. Logistic regression analyses were used to estimate Odds Ratios and 95% confidence intervals in models adjusted by socio-demographic and clinical factors. Based on positive or negative associations between each factor and dementia, different clusters of factors were created (vascular profiles 1 and 2) in order to evaluate possible cumulative effects. Results: 513 subjects (6.5%) were diagnosed as demented. Hypertension and dyslipidemia were negatively associated with dementia. The positive association between peripheral atherosclerosis and dementia was confounded by stroke. An increasing number of factors of vascular profile 1 (hypertension, dyslipidemia, overweight, negatively related to dementia) was associated with a decreasing probability to be affected by dementia. Subjects with diabetes and peripheral atherosclerosis (vascular profile 2: factors positively associated with dementia) had an increased probability to be demented. Conclusions: The study about correlations between clusters of vascular factors and dementia is relevant for epidemiological and clinical implications.