, a journal of the American Heart Association.
‘Early-onset of dementia is more than twice as common in patients born with heart disease as in the general population.’
Dr. Madsen and his colleagues at Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark studied 10,632 adults born between 1890 and 1982. The researchers used medical registries and a medical records review covering all Danish hospitals to identify adults with CHD diagnosed between 1963 and 2012.
The research team found a 60 percent increased risk of dementia compared to the general population. The risk was 160 percent higher (2.6 times higher) when comparing those less than 65 years old.
Dr. Madsen says it is important to recognize that many of these adults were born during a time when medical and surgical interventions were more limited than they are today. Still, he says "we need to understand the healthcare needs and risk factors affecting the larger number of middle-age and older adults currently living with CHD."
CHD occurs in six to 10 of every 1,000 live births. Because these individuals are now living longer, the population of those with CHD is experiencing different neurodevelopmental issues than those previously described only in infants, children and young adults.
Source: Eurekalert
