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Is Frailty a Prodromal Stage of Vascular Dementia? Results From the T hree‐ C ity S tudy
Author(s) -
AvilaFunes José Alberto,
Carcaillon Laure,
Helmer Catherine,
Carrière Isabelle,
Ritchie Karen,
Rouaud Olivier,
Tzourio Christophe,
Dartigues JeanFrançois,
Amieva Hélène
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of the american geriatrics society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.992
H-Index - 232
eISSN - 1532-5415
pISSN - 0002-8614
DOI - 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2012.04142.x
Subject(s) - medicine , dementia , vascular dementia , stage (stratigraphy) , gerontology , disease , paleontology , biology
Objectives To investigate the relationship between frailty and incident vascular dementia ( V a D ). Design Seven‐year longitudinal study. Setting T hree‐ C ity S tudy, a F rench prospective study designed to evaluate the risk of dementia and cognitive decline attributable to vascular risk factors. Participants Five thousand four hundred eighty community‐dwelling persons aged 65 to 95. Measurements An expert committee established a clinical diagnosis of V a D . Frailty was defined as having at least three of the following criteria: weight loss, weakness, exhaustion, slowness, and low physical activity. Participants with prior stroke or prevalent dementia at baseline were excluded from analyses. Multivariate models were used to evaluate the relationship between frailty and incident V a D . Results At baseline, 6.5% of participants were classified as frail. After 7 years of follow‐up, 54 persons were diagnosed with V a D , seven of whom where frail. In the proportional hazards models, frailty was marginally associated with greater risk of all types of dementia and was not associated with incident A lzheimer's disease, but frailty status was independently associated with incident V a D . Conclusion Frailty is a major risk factor for incident V a D , so its identification could contribute to better estimates of the risk of V a D in elderly adults.