Scientists List Health Conditions That May Signal Alzheimer’s Years Earlier
Newsweek • • health
Key Points:
- Researchers at Vanderbilt Health have identified over 70 medical conditions that could predict Alzheimer’s disease risk up to a decade before symptoms appear, potentially enabling earlier intervention and reducing incidence rates by half.
- The study analyzed electronic health records from two large databases, MarketScan and Vanderbilt Health, comparing individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer’s to matched controls over a 10-year period.
- Four broad categories of conditions were linked to increased Alzheimer’s risk: mental health disorders (e.g., depression, psychosis), neurological and sleep-related issues (e.g., insomnia, sleep apnea), cardiovascular diseases (e.g., hypertension, cerebral ischemia), and endocrine/metabolic disorders (e.g., type 2 diabetes).
- While these associations do not prove causation
