The association between vertebrobasilar insufficiency and the risk of dementia: a nationwide register-based retrospective cohort study in Taiwan

OBJECTIVES: Neurodegenerative disorders are reportedly characterised by decreased regional cerebral blood flow. However, the association between vertebrobasilar insufficiency (VBI) and dementia remains unclear. In this nationwide, population-based, retrospective cohort study, we explored the potential association between VBI and dementia. DESIGN: Nationwide population-based cohort study. SETTING: Patients with VBI were newly diagnosed between 2000 and 2005 from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. PARTICIPANTS: We included 3642 subjects as the VBI group. The control cohort included 14 568 randomly selected age-matched and sex-matched VBI-free individuals. OUTCOME MEASURES: All subjects were followed until the diagnosis of dementia, death or the end of 2010. Patients with VBI, dementia (viz, vascular and non-vascular, including Alzheimer’s) subtypes and other confounding factors were identified according to the International Classification of Diseases Clinical Modification Codes. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was employed to examine adjusted HRs after adjusting for confounding factors. RESULTS: Patients with VBI had a 1.807-fold (95% CI 1.643 to 1.988, p<0.001) higher risk to develop all-cause dementia than individuals without VBI. The risk was significantly higher in the VBI group than in the non-VBI group regardless of age (<65 years: HR: 2.997, 95% CI 1.451 to 6.454, p<0.001; ≥65 years: HR: 1.752, 95% CI 1.584 to 1.937, p<0.001). The VBI group had a higher risk of all-cause dementia than the non-VBI group regardless of sex and follow-up time intervals (<1 year, 1–2 years and≥2 years). CONCLUSION: Patients with VBI appear to have an increased risk of developing dementia. Further research is needed to investigate the underlying pathophysiology.