Institute of Clinical Medicine-Neurology, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
J Alzheimers Dis. 2012;32(3):531-40. doi: 10.3233/JAD-2012-120802.
The shared risk factor profile between cardiovascular diseases and Alzheimer's disease (AD), observations on vascular pathology in AD, and altered cerebral blood flow in AD brains have led to the suggestion that AD might be a vascular disorder with neurodegenerative consequences. Targeting vascular and metabolic risk factors could be an effective way to prevent AD. Higher body mass index, elevated blood pressure, serum cholesterol concentrations, and impaired glucose regulation have been associated with increased risk of AD. Interestingly, the associations between these factors measured at mid-life are stronger, or even opposite, than with the risk factors measured at late-life. This may reflect true differences in the association (i.e., mid-life risk factors being a better measure of vascular load during adulthood), reverse causality, or bias. The vascular risk factors can directly increase the susceptibility to AD, or the effect can be mediated via cardio- and cerebrovascular diseases.
心血管疾病和阿尔茨海默病（AD）之间存在共同的风险因素特征，AD 中的血管病理学观察以及 AD 大脑中血流的改变，提示 AD 可能是一种具有神经退行性后果的血管疾病。针对血管和代谢风险因素可能是预防 AD 的有效方法。较高的体重指数、血压升高、血清胆固醇浓度和葡萄糖调节受损与 AD 风险增加相关。有趣的是，在中年测量的这些因素之间的关联比在老年测量的风险因素更强，甚至相反。这可能反映了关联的真实差异（即中年风险因素更能反映成年期血管负荷）、反向因果关系或偏差。血管风险因素可直接增加 AD 的易感性，或通过心血管和脑血管疾病间接影响 AD。
