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Vascular risk factors promote conversion from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer disease
Li J, Wang YJ, Zhang M, Xu ZQ, Gao CY, Fang CQ, Yan JC, Zhou HD et al.. Neurology, 2011-04-13
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Objective Growing evidence suggests that vascular risk factors (VRF) contribute to cognitive decline. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of VRF on the conversion from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to Alzheimer disease (AD) dementia. Methods A total of 837 subjects with MCI were enrolled at baseline and followed up annually for 5 years. The incidence of AD dementia was investigated. A mixed random effects regression model was used to analyze the association between VRF and the progression of MCI assessed with Mini-Mental State Examination and instrumental Activities of Daily Living. Cox proportional hazard models were used to identify the association between VRF and dementia conversion, and to examine whether treatment of VRF can prevent dementia conversion. Results At the end of the follow-up, 298 subjects converted to AD dementia, while 352 remained MCI. Subjects with VRF had a faster progression in cognition and function relative to subjects without. VRF including hypertension, diabetes, cerebrovascular diseases, and hypercholesterolemia increased the risk of dementia conversion. Those subjects with MCI in whom all VRF were treated had a lower risk of dementia than those who had some VRF treated. Treatment of individual VRF including hypertension, diabetes, and hypercholesterolemia was associated with the reduced risk of AD conversion. Conclusion VRF increased the risk of incident AD dementia. Treatment of VRF was associated with a reduced risk of incident AD dementia. Although our findings are observational, they suggest active intervention for VRF might reduce progression in MCI to AD dementia.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Li, J., Wang, Y. J., Zhang, M., Xu, Z. Q., Gao, C. Y., Fang, C. Q., et al. (2011). Vascular risk factors promote conversion from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer disease. Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0b013e318217e7a4
Vancouver
Li J, Wang YJ, Zhang M, Xu ZQ, Gao CY, Fang CQ, et al. Vascular risk factors promote conversion from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer disease. Neurology. 2011. doi:10.1212/wnl.0b013e318217e7a4. PMID: 21490316.
BibTeX
@article{li2011-21490316,
author = {Li, J. and Wang, Y. J. and Zhang, M. and Xu, Z. Q. and Gao, C. Y. and Fang, C. Q. and Yan, J. C. and Zhou, H. D. and others},
title = {{Vascular risk factors promote conversion from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer disease}},
journal = {Neurology},
year = {2011},
doi = {10.1212/wnl.0b013e318217e7a4},
pmid = {21490316},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0b013e318217e7a4}
}
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Key findings
- Objective Growing evidence suggests that vascular risk factors (VRF) contribute to cognitive decline.
- Results At the end of the follow-up, 298 subjects converted to AD dementia, while 352 remained MCI.
- Those subjects with MCI in whom all VRF were treated had a lower risk of dementia than those who had some VRF treated.
- Treatment of individual VRF including hypertension, diabetes, and hypercholesterolemia was associated with the reduced risk of AD conversion.
- Treatment of VRF was associated with a reduced risk of incident AD dementia.
Why it matters
In 837 people with mild cognitive impairment followed yearly for 5 years, 298 developed Alzheimer's dementia. Those with high blood pressure, diabetes, cerebrovascular disease or high cholesterol were more likely to convert. People whose vascular risk factors were all treated had lower dementia risk than those with only some treated, and treating hypertension, diabetes or high cholesterol was each "associated with the reduced risk of AD conversion." The authors stress that their findings "are observational", so this shows a link, not proof that treatment prevents Alzheimer's.
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Study details
- Participants837
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 55/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | Neurology: journal h-index 525 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2011 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 837 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 364 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 21.4 citations a year over 17 year(s) since 2011 |
| Impact for its field and year | 5 / 6 | Cited 21.0× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 18 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 35 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Huadong Zhou: h-index 39 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 0 / 3 | Army Medical University: institution h-index 478 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 21490316) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 55 / 100 | — |
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