Metabolic Risk Factors of Alzheimer's Disease, Dementia with Lewy Bodies, and Normal Elderly: A Population-Based Study

BACKGROUND: Alzheimer's disease (AD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) share many risk factors. Evidence suggests that metabolic risk factors are important to AD; however, their association with DLB is unclear. The risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) associated with AD and DLB is also uncertain. Thus, this nationwide, population-based study was designed to evaluate the metabolic and CVD risks in AD and DLB. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data were obtained from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. AD patients, DLB patients, and normal control (NC) individuals from 1996 to 2013 were enrolled for risk assessment. RESULTS: In total, 7544 NC individuals, 1324 AD patients, and 562 DLB patients were enrolled. Participants with one or more metabolic risk factors had significantly higher odds of AD or DLB. No significant differences in metabolic risk factors were observed between DLB and AD patients. AD patients had a lower risk of CVD (aHR = 0.67, 95% CI = 0.59–0.76, p value < 0.001) and coronary artery disease (CAD) (aHR = 0.59, 95% CI = 0.51–0.69, p value < 0.001) than NC. DLB patients had a higher risk of ischemic stroke (aHR = 2.27, 95% CI = 1.68–3.06, p value < 0.001) than NC. CONCLUSION: Metabolic risk factors are important in AD and DLB. Patients with AD might have a lower risk of CAD and ischemic strokes. Patients with DLB might have a higher risk of ischemic stroke.