Exalto et al reported the midlife risk score for predicting the risk of dementia within the next 40 years. This may be able to identify a patient who may benefit from interventions that may reduce the risk. The authors are from University Medical Centre Utrecht, University of California San Franscisco, and Karolinska University in Stockholm.
Patient selection: middle age adult (40 to 55 years old)
Parameters:
(1) age in years
(2) body mass index (BMI)
(3) systolic blood pressure in mm Hg
(4) gender
(5) total serum cholesterol in mg/dL
(6) level of education
Parameter |
Finding |
Points |
age in years |
40 to 46 years of age |
0 |
|
47 to 53 years of age |
3 |
|
54 or 55 years of age |
4 |
body mass index |
< 30 kg per square meter |
0 |
|
>= 30 kg per square meter |
2 |
systolic blood pressure |
< 140 mm Hg |
0 |
|
>= 140 mm Hg |
2 |
gender |
female |
0 |
|
male |
1 |
total serum cholesterol |
< 251 mg/dL |
0 |
|
>= 251 mg/dL |
2 |
level of education |
0 to 6 years |
3 |
|
7 to 9 years |
2 |
|
> 9 years |
0 |
total score =
= SUM(points for all 6 parameters)
Interpretation:
• minimum score: 0
• maximum score: 14
• The higher the score the greater the risk for dementia in 40 years.
Total Score |
Percent with Dementia in 40 Years |
<= 1 |
10% |
2 |
11% |
3 |
15% |
4 |
17% |
5 |
20% |
6 |
21% |
7 |
25% |
>= 8 |
29% |
Specialty: Neurology