Metabolic syndrome and Alzheimer’s

Metabolic syndrome has been defined as a combination of the following factors: abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, high blood glucose levels, and poor cholesterol scores (including high triglycerides and low levels of HDL, or good cholesterol). Studies have shown that the metabolic syndrome carries with it an increased risk of type 2 diabetes as well as cardiovascular disease, and both of those conditions have been linked to higher risk of Alzheimer's.

Scientists in the UK and Australia sought to establish a direct link between metabolic syndrome and Alzheimer's by selecting 50 patients with probable Alzheimer's from Memory Disorder Clinics in Launceston, Australia, and Bristol, England (Arch Neurol 2007;64(1):93-96). 75 control patients were recruited from the Alzheimer's patients' spouses and from the surrounding communities. All 125 subjects were given full medical exams, including height and weight, waist circumference, blood pressure, and blood tests to measure glucose levels and cholesterol scores. In addition they were given Mini-Mental State Examinations to confirm dementia (for the Alzheimer's patients) or the lack thereof (for the control subjects).

They found that those with metabolic syndrome increased their risk of Alzheimer's by three times over those without the syndrome. Interestingly, Alzheimer's patients tended to have high blood pressure less frequently than those with a normal score on the Mini-Mental State Examination, and those with high blood pressure seemed to have a reduced risk of Alzheimer's.

What this means for you

Metabolic syndrome is a combination of factors, not a list of requirements, so if you have three of the four factors listed above, this is your wake-up call. All of the factors of metabolic syndrome can be improved by choosing to eat healthfully. No matter how you improve your diet, chances are if you do, you'll remember how longer.

First posted: January 10, 2007