Risk Factors of Alzheimer's Disease Among Iranian Population

Background: Several demographic, environmental and clinical risk factors have been determined as possible risk/protective factors of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The purpose of this study was to find out which one of these known factors is related to developing of AD in Iranian population. Materials and Methods: In a case-control study, 115 elderly patients (mean age of 70±8.18 years) with DSM-IV based final diagnosis compared with 115 non-demented counterparts matched for age ,sex, and socioeconomic status regarding lifestyle, family history, and history of bio-psychosocial health. Results: All differences between the two groups were non-significant except for history of hypertension (P=0.018) which was most prevalent in AD group. Risk of the incident AD for the hypertensive group was 1.71 (1.08-2.70) compared to the non-hypertensive group. Conclusion: These results confirm the previously reported relationship between AD and vascular factors. Prevention, early detection, and treatment of hypertension may have some implications in the primary and secondary prevention of AD.