Bone Health and Dementia: Establishing a Link

Is there a connection between Osteoporosis and dementia? Yes, loss in bone density may be linked to an increased risk of dementia in older age.

Osteoporosis and dementia often coexist, but the association between the two diseases remains unclear. A new study published in the journal Neurology aimed to investigate the relationship between bone mineral density (BMD) and the risk of dementia.

The study involving 3,651 people in the Netherlands with an average age of 72 who did not have dementia at the start of the study showed that bone loss indeed already occurs before dementia and thus is linked to a higher risk of dementia.

How Bone Density May Be Linked to Dementia Risk?

Low bone density and dementia are two conditions that commonly affect older people simultaneously, especially as bone loss often increases due to physical inactivity and poor nutrition during dementia. However, little is known about bone loss that occurs in the period leading up to dementia.

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‘Measuring bone density could be a new way of predicting later-life dementia risk.’

Researchers looked at X-rays to identify bone density. Participants were interviewed every four to five years and completed physical tests such as bone scans and tests for dementia. Over an average of 11 years, 688 people, or 19% developed dementia.

Of the 1,211 people with the lowest total body bone density, 90 people developed dementia within 10 years, compared to 57 of the 1,211 people with the highest bone density.

After adjusting for factors such as age, sex, education, other illnesses and medication use, and a family history of dementia, researchers found that within 10 years, people with the lowest total body bone density were 42% more likely to develop dementia than people in the highest group.

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Previous research has found factors like diet and exercise may impact bones differently as well as the risk of dementia. This research has found a link between bone loss and dementia, but further studies are needed to better understand this connection between bone density and memory loss.

Bone loss may occur already in the earliest phases of dementia, years before any clinical symptoms manifest themselves. If that were the case, bone loss could be an indicator of risk for dementia, and people with bone loss could be targeted for screening and improved care.

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A limitation of the study is that participants were primarily of European origin and aged 70 or older at the start of the study, so these findings may vary in different races, ethnicities, and younger age groups.

People with reduced physical activity- often in older persons because of medical problems such as heart disease, diabetes, and stroke – have reduced bone density and, independently, increased risk for dementia.

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The critical takeaway is that bone density can be treated easily and effectively and reduce the risk of dementia, fractures, and hospitalization. Hence, everyone above 50 years should have a baseline bone density, as there is an effective treatment, using drugs or exercise.

Source-Eurekalert