Research Using the NACC Database

Late life systolic blood pressure, body mass index, and heart rate, and
Alzheimers neuropathology among those without dementia before autopsy
 
   Lead Investigator:    Lilah Besser
   Institution      :     
   E-Mail           :    lmbesser@uw.edu
   Proposal ID      :    249


   Publications:



1  ^S={font_weight=bold}Besser LM, Hawes SE, Bristow KE, Monsell SE, Kukull WA^S={}
   Pulse Pressure and Atherosclerosis, Arteriolosclerosis, and Cortical Microinfarcts in Individuals with Clinical Alzheimer's Disease.
   Abstract  Alzheimers and Dementia,9:P441,2013,

   PUBLISHED





   Proposal Description:
   Importance:  Simple annual exam measures such as body mass index (BMI) and heart rate (HR) may indicate underlying Alzheimers disease neuropathology (ADNP) in those without dementia.  Objective: To examine, among subjects without dementia before death, whether average late-life BMI, systolic blood pressure (SBP), and HR are associated with ADNP at autopsy.   Design: Used data collected by Alzheimers Disease Centers (ADCs) between 2005 and 2014 and available in the longitudinal Uniform Data Set (UDS) and Neuropathology Data Set to study subjects meeting our eligibility criteria.   Setting: ADC subjects are a clinical case series of patients coming from population-based samples, clinic samples, public recruitment efforts, participant referrals, and other ongoing studies.  Participants:  Restricted to subjects with no dementia at their most recent UDS visit, two or more UDS visits before death, and autopsy data. Only a subset of UDS subjects consent to autopsy. The final sample consisted of 204 subjects with normal cognition (NC) and 168 with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) at their last visit before death (N=25 ADCs). The average age at death for the NC and MCI subjects was 87 and 88 years, and 39 and 49 were male, respectively. Approximately 94 of the sample were of white race.  Exposure: Subjects height, weight, resting HR, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure are measured at each UDS visit. BMI was calculated from the subjects height and weight, and each subjects BMI, HR, and SBP were averaged over their UDS visits.   Main Outcome Measures: The presence of Alzheimers disease neuropathology at autopsy was defined as those with moderate to frequent neuritic plaques (indicating amyloid burden) and Braak stage III through VI (indicating neurofibrillary tangles).