Cardiovascular health and dementia incidence among older adults in Latin America: Results from the 10/66 study

Objectives Growing evidence shows that cardiovascular health (CVH) is associated with brain health. Little is known about this topic among older adults in Latin America, where the number of people living with dementia is rising. This study aimed to assess the longitudinal association between CVH and dementia in six Latin American countries. Methods We analyzed longitudinal data from the 10/66 study that included nondementia residents at baseline aged 65+ in six Latin American countries (n = 6447) and were followed up for 3 years. An index of modifiable CVH factors (ranging from 0 to 14) was calculated. Incident dementia was modeled using competing risk regression to adjust for risk of death. Results The sample included 6.2% participants with poor (0‐5), 81.0% with moderate (6‐10), and 12.8% with ideal CVH (11‐14). At follow‐up, 9.4% had developed dementia and 13.1% had died. Compared with those with poor CVH, participants with moderate and ideal levels of CVH had a significantly lower risk of dementia in both the unadjusted (subhazard ratio for moderate, 0.77; ideal, 0.59) and adjusted models (moderate, 0.73; ideal, 0.66). Conclusion Moderate and ideal levels of CVH in old age may protect against dementia incidence. These findings may inform health promotion efforts within dementia national plans adopted recently in some Latin American countries.