Year: 2006
Type: editorial
Abstract: troke and Alzheimer disease are major public health burdens that account for substantial disability and extensive cost. 1,2In addition, these diseases currently tie as the third most common cause of death in the United States, 3 and both will become more important as life expectancy increases.Annually, 15 million people worldwide experience a stroke, of which 5 million are fatal and an equal number are left permanently disabled and in need of assistance for activities of daily living.In the United States alone, approximately 700 000 people have a stroke each year, of which 500 000 are first stroke events. 1 Recent evidence suggests that stroke is at least as frequent as acute coronary events. 4lzheimer disease accounts for Ϸ60% to 70% of cases of progressive cognitive impairment in elderly patients in Western societies. 5The prevalence of Alzheimer disease exceeds 4 million in the United States alone, 6 and each year, Ͼ400 000 new cases are diagnosed.Assuming current trends, the numbers are expected to more than triple over the next 50 years. 6ncreasing age is the strongest predictor for both stroke and Alzheimer disease.Atherosclerosis is an established risk factor for stroke, but over the last decade, the evidence has accumulated that Alzheimer disease is also associated with vascular risk factors and atherosclerosis independent of age. 7,8For example, various measures of atherosclerosis including vessel wall thickness, plaques of the carotid and coronary arteries, and the ratio of ankle-to-brachial systolic blood pressure have all been associated with Alzheimer disease. 9,10In addition, older adults with cardiovascular disease other than stroke are at increased risk of Alzheimer disease compared with those without. 8Processes that involve cholesterol mechanism and inflammation have also been associated with Alzheimer disease and atherosclerosis. 7he lifetime risk method is used to estimate the probability that a person will develop a specific disease during his or her lifespan. 11In contrast to cumulative risk or age-adjusted incidence measures, lifetime risk estimates do not depend on survival to a given age.This measure is based on methods
Source: Stroke
Authors: Tobias Kurth, Giancarlo Logroscino
Institutions: Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard University
Language: English
Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2105471798