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Risk Factors for Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease
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Risk Factors for Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Global Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 August 2022) | Viewed by 18817

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Maryam Vasefi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biology, Lamar University, Beaumont, TX 77710, USA
Interests: pharmacology; drug design; cell signaling

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Dementia is a general term for cognitive decline, and its most common cause is Alzheimer's disease. It is estimated that 5.5 million Americans aged 65 years and older may have Alzheimer's disease. There is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease; thus, it is essential to slow its progression. Risk factors associated with developing dementia and Alzheimer's disease have been identified. Among these, are family history and old age; in addition, coexisting medical conditions, environmental exposure, and lifestyle also contribute to disease development and progression. The identification and management of these risk factors may help to delay Alzheimer's disease progression and cognitive impairment. 

Papers discussing risk factors and how they are associated with cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease are invited for this Special Issue, with the aim to provide new information on the conditions favoring the disease and on how to slow its progression. We hope that this Special Issue will advance our knowledge of dementia, so to help to improve the quality of life of older adults, reducing their cognitive decline and slowing the progression of Alzheimer's disease.

Dr. Maryam Vasefi
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Dementia
  • Alzheimer’s disease
  • Cognitive decline
  • Risk factors for dementia and Alzheimer’s disease
  • Environmental risks for cognitive decline
  • Healthy lifestyle
  • Public health

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 671 KiB  
Article
Comparative Efficacy of Active Group Music Intervention versus Group Music Listening in Alzheimer’s Disease
by María Gómez-Gallego, Juan Cándido Gómez-Gallego, María Gallego-Mellado and Javier García-García
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(15), 8067; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18158067 - 30 Jul 2021
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 9320
Abstract
Background: Music interventions are promising therapies for the management of symptoms in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Globally, music interventions can be classified as active or receptive depending on the participation of the subjects. Active and receptive music tasks engage different brain areas that might [...] Read more.
Background: Music interventions are promising therapies for the management of symptoms in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Globally, music interventions can be classified as active or receptive depending on the participation of the subjects. Active and receptive music tasks engage different brain areas that might result in distinctive clinical effects. This study aims to compare the clinical effects of two types of music interventions and a control activity. Methods: Ninety AD patients from six nursing homes participated in the study. Nursing homes were randomly and blindly assigned to receive either active music intervention, receptive music intervention, or the usual care. Effects on cognition, behaviour, daily living activities, and motor function were assessed. Results: Active music intervention improved cognition, behaviour, and functional state in a higher extent than both receptive music intervention and usual care. The effect size of active music intervention for cognitive deficits and behavioural symptoms was large (η2 = 0.62 and 0.61, respectively), while for functional state, it was small-to-medium sized (η2 = 0.18). Receptive music intervention had a stabilizing effect on behavioural symptoms compared to control intervention (mean change from baseline ± standard deviation = −0.76 ± 3.66 and 3.35 ± 3.29, respectively). In the active music intervention, the percentage of patients who showed improvement in cognitive deficits (85.7), behavioural symptoms (92.9), and functional state (46.4) was higher than in both receptive listening (11.8, 42.9, and 14.3, respectively) and control group (6.3, 12.2, and 17.1, respectively). Conclusions: Active music intervention is useful to improve symptoms of AD and should be prescribed as a complement to the usual treatment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Risk Factors for Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease)
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15 pages, 2257 KiB  
Article
Free Fatty Acids Are Associated with the Cognitive Functions in Stroke Survivors
by Dariusz Kotlęga, Barbara Peda, Joanna Palma, Agnieszka Zembroń-Łacny, Monika Gołąb-Janowska, Marta Masztalewicz, Przemysław Nowacki and Małgorzata Szczuko
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(12), 6500; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18126500 - 16 Jun 2021
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 2964
Abstract
Ischemic stroke is a leading cause of motor impairment and psychosocial disability. Although free fatty acids (FFA) have been proven to affect the risk of stroke and potentially dementia, the evidence of their impact on cognitive functions in stroke patients is lacking. We [...] Read more.
Ischemic stroke is a leading cause of motor impairment and psychosocial disability. Although free fatty acids (FFA) have been proven to affect the risk of stroke and potentially dementia, the evidence of their impact on cognitive functions in stroke patients is lacking. We aimed to establish such potential relationships. Seventy-two ischemic stroke patients were prospectively analysed. Their cognitive functions were assessed seven days post-stroke and six months later as follow-up (n = 41). Seven days post-stroke analysis of serum FFAs levels showed direct correlations between Cognitive Verbal Learning Test (CVLT) and the following FFAs: C20:4n6 arachidonic acid and C20:5n3 eicosapentaenoic acid, while negative correlations were observed for C18:3n3 linolenic acid (ALA), C18:4 n3 stearidonic acid and C23:0 tricosanoic acid. Follow-up examination with CVLT revealed positive correlations with C15:0 pentadecanoid acid, C18:3n6 gamma linoleic acid, SDA, C23:0 tricosanoic acid and negative correlations with C14:0 myristic acid and C14:1 myristolenic acids. Several tests (Trail Making Test, Stroop Dots Trail, Digit Span Test and Verbal Fluency Test) were directly correlated mainly with C14:0 myristic acid and C14:1 myristolenic acid, while corresponding negatively with C18:1 vaccinic acid, C20:3n3 cis-11-eicosatrienoic acid, C22:1/C20:1 cis11- eicosanic acid and C20:2 cis-11-eicodienoic acid. No correlations between Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA) test performed on seventh day, and FFAs levels were found. Saturated fatty acids play a negative role in long-term cognitive outcomes in stroke patients. The metabolic cascade of polyunsaturated fatty acids (n3 PUFA) and the synthesis of (AA) can be involved in pathogenesis of stroke-related cognitive impairment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Risk Factors for Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease)
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14 pages, 394 KiB  
Article
A Novel Score for Predicting Alzheimer’s Disease Risk from Late Life Psychopathological and Health Risk Factors
by Javier Santabárbara, Juan Bueno-Notivol, Darren M. Lipnicki, Concepción de la Cámara, Raúl López-Antón, Antonio Lobo and Patricia Gracia-García
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(4), 1802; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18041802 - 12 Feb 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2802
Abstract
With the increasing size of the aging population, dementia risk reduction has become a main public health concern. Dementia risk models or indices may help to identify individuals in the community at high risk to develop dementia. We have aimed to develop a [...] Read more.
With the increasing size of the aging population, dementia risk reduction has become a main public health concern. Dementia risk models or indices may help to identify individuals in the community at high risk to develop dementia. We have aimed to develop a novel dementia risk index focused on the late-life (65 years or more) population, that addresses risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) easily identifiable at primary care settings. These risk factors include some shown to be associated with the risk of AD but not featured in existing indices, such as hearing loss and anxiety. Our index is also the first to account for the competing risk of death. The Zaragoza Dementia and Depression Project (ZARADEMP) Alzheimer Dementia Risk Score predicts an individual´s risk of developing AD within 5 years. The probability of late onset AD significantly increases in those with risk scores between 21 and 28 and, furthermore, is almost 4-fold higher for those with risk scores of 29 or higher. Our index may provide a practical instrument to identify subjects at high risk of AD and to design preventive strategies targeting the contributing risk factors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Risk Factors for Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease)
12 pages, 1175 KiB  
Article
Anhedonia as a Potential Risk Factor of Alzheimer’s Disease in a Community-Dwelling Elderly Sample: Results from the ZARADEMP Project
by David Vaquero-Puyuelo, Concepción De-la-Cámara, Beatriz Olaya, Patricia Gracia-García, Antonio Lobo, Raúl López-Antón and Javier Santabárbara
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(4), 1370; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18041370 - 3 Feb 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2687
Abstract
(1) Introduction: Dementia is a major public health problem, and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most frequent subtype. Clarifying the potential risk factors is necessary in order to improve dementia-prevention strategies and quality of life. Here, our purpose was to investigate the role [...] Read more.
(1) Introduction: Dementia is a major public health problem, and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most frequent subtype. Clarifying the potential risk factors is necessary in order to improve dementia-prevention strategies and quality of life. Here, our purpose was to investigate the role of the absence of hedonic tone; anhedonia, understood as the reduction on previous enjoyable daily activities, which occasionally is underdetected and underdiagnosed; and the risk of developing AD in a cognitively unimpaired and non-depressed population sample. (2) Method: We used data from the Zaragoza Dementia and Depression (ZARADEMP) project, a longitudinal epidemiological study on dementia and depression. After excluding subjects with dementia, a sample of 2830 dwellers aged ≥65 years was followed for 4.5 years. The geriatric mental state examination was used to identify cases of anhedonia. AD was diagnosed by a panel of research psychiatrists according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) criteria. A multivariate survival analysis and Cox proportional hazards regression model were performed, and the analysis was controlled by an analysis for the presence of clinically significant depression. (3) Results: We found a significant association between anhedonia cases and AD risk in the univariate analysis (hazard ratio (HR): 2.37; 95% CI: 1.04–5.40). This association persisted more strongly in the fully adjusted model. (4) Conclusions: Identifying cognitively intact individuals with anhedonia is a priority to implement preventive strategies that could delay the progression of cognitive and functional impairment in subjects at risk of AD. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Risk Factors for Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease)
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