Can Bone Density Scans Help Predict Dementia Risk?
-
Bone densitometry scans may be a novel, noninvasive, and scalable way to identify older women at risk of developing dementia, new research suggests. In an analysis of more than 900 study participants, women in their 70s with more advanced abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) seen on lateral spine images during dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) had a two- to fourfold higher risk for late-life dementia than those with low AAC. This finding was independent of cardiovascular risk factors and apolipoprotein E (APOE ) genotype.
-
@labani Results showed that, compared with women who had low AAC, women with moderate and extensive AAC were more likely to experience late-life dementia hospitalization (9.3% low, 15.5% moderate, and 18.3% extensive) and death (2.8%, 8.3%, and 9.4%, respectively).