Metabolic syndrome linked to elevated danger for young-onset dementia in South Korea


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Key takeaways:

  • Metabolic syndrome included elevated waist circumference, blood stress, blood sugar, triglyceride and ldl cholesterol.
  • Future analysis that makes use of mind scans is required to substantiate and develop upon the findings.

Metabolic syndrome was a danger issue for creating young-onset dementia, together with Alzheimer’s illness and vascular dementia, amongst people in South Korea, in keeping with information printed in Neurology.

“[Young-onset dementia] is usually outlined as dementia with onset earlier than the



Infographic for Lee ITJ with chart at left, stats & explanation at right.

Information had been derived from Lee J-Y et al. Neurology. 2025;doi:10.1212/WNL.0000000000213599.

age of 65,” Jeong-Yoon Lee, a doctoral scholar within the division of neurology at Soonchunhyang College Seoul Hospital, Soonchunhyang College Faculty of Drugs in South Korea, and colleagues wrote.

“Globally, the age-standardized prevalence of [young-onset dementia (YOD)] is roughly 119.0 per 100,000 people aged 30 to 64, affecting greater than 3.9 million individuals,” they continued.

Though prior analysis has established that metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a major danger issue for heart problems and stroke, associations between the situation and YOD are much less established, Lee and colleagues wrote.

They sought to find out whether or not MetS and its particular person components, together with bigger waist circumference and elevated blood stress, blood sugar, triglyceride and ldl cholesterol, improve the danger for YOD in addition to all-cause dementia, AD, and vascular dementia (VaD).

The researchers carried out a population-based cohort examine using information from the Korean Nationwide Insurance coverage Service to yield greater than 4.2 million people who underwent a well being screening in 2009. From this cohort, eligibility standards equivalent to prior dementia analysis left 1.98 million people (imply age, 49 years; 51.3% males; 50.7% with MetS) out there for the examine.

Eligible people had been adopted till Dec. 31 of the yr they turned 64 years, or Dec. 31, 2020 for many who didn’t attain 64 years, whichever got here first. The examine’s main end result was incident YOD, outlined as a analysis earlier than a participant’s sixty fifth birthday, whereas secondary outcomes included danger for young-onset AD and VaD with MetS.

Lee and colleagues used covariates for statistical evaluation together with age, intercourse, BMI and weight problems, earnings degree, alcohol and tobacco use, together with comorbidities equivalent to hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia and despair.

Over a median follow-up of seven.75 years, 8,921 people (0.45%) developed YOD, with a danger for all-cause YOD 1.77 instances greater amongst these with MetS in contrast with those that didn’t have MetS.

Lee and colleagues additionally reported MetS was related to a 24% greater danger of all-cause YOD (adjusted HR = 1.24; 95% CI: 1.19–1.3), a 12.4% elevated danger of AD (HR = 1.12; 95% CI: 1.03–1.22), and a 20.9% elevated danger of VaD (HR = 1.21; 95% CI: 1.08–1.35).

All of the parts of MetS had been related to an elevated danger of YOD.

Information additional revealed that danger for YOD elevated by the variety of MetS parts, remaining statistically vital when fewer than three parts required for a MetS analysis had been current. Additionally, danger for dementia elevated by 70% for sufferers with all 5 parts of MetS examined.

The researchers additional famous that ladies with metabolic syndrome had a 34% elevated danger for dementia in contrast with 15% elevated danger in males, whereas people of their 40s logged a better danger than these of their 50s, in addition to those that consumed alcohol, or had a analysis of weight problems or despair.

“Our findings counsel that way of life adjustments to scale back the danger of metabolic syndrome, equivalent to consuming a nutritious diet, exercising commonly, sustaining a wholesome weight, quitting smoking and lowering stress, might assist cut back the danger of young-onset dementia,” Minwoo Lee, MD, PhD, of Hallym College Sacred Coronary heart Hospital in Anyang, South Korea, stated within the launch. “Future analysis that follows individuals over longer durations of time and makes use of mind scans to search for biomarkers of dementia is required to substantiate and develop upon our findings.”

Reference:

Metabolic syndrome linked to elevated danger of young-onset dementia. https://www.aan.com/PressRoom/Dwelling/PressRelease/5255. Printed April 23, 2025. Accessed April 25, 2025.