Ten-year risk estimates for Alzheimer's disease and dementia by age, sex, and apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype may help identify patients who could benefit from early prevention, Danish researchers suggested.
In a study that spanned over 100,000 people and 4 decades, women who carried two copies of the APOE ε4 allele (ε4/4), for example, had an absolute 10-year risk of Alzheimer's disease that ranged from 7% when they were in their 60s to 24% when they were ages ≥80. For these women, the risk of all dementia types ranged from 10% in their 60s to 38% at ages ≥80, reported Ruth Frikke-Schmidt, MD, DMSc, of the University of Copenhagen, and colleagues, in CMAJ.
"Risk stratification and specific treatment goals according to estimated absolute 10-year risks have been implemented in cardiovascular disease for years," Frikke-Schmidt told MedPage Today. "There is an unmet need for similar strategies in dementia, underscored by the publication of several randomized multi-component trials that seem to improve or maintain brain function in at-risk elderly people from the general population."
Learn more: Who's Likely to Develop Alzheimer's, and When?