Smoking and Obesity as Risk Factors in Frontotemporal Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease: The HUNT Study.

BACKGROUND: Few studies have assessed smoking and obesity together as risk factors for frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). OBJECTIVE: To study smoking and obesity as risk factors for FTD and AD. METHODS: Ninety patients with FTD and 654 patients with AD were compared with 116 cognitively healthy elderly individuals in a longitudinal design with 15-31 years between measurements of risk factors before the dementia diagnosis. RESULTS: There were no associations between smoking and FTD (p = 0.218; odds ratio [OR]: 0.990; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.975-1.006). There were significant associations between obesity and FTD (p = 0.049; OR: 2.629; 95% CI: 1.003-6.894). There were significant associations between both smoking (p = 0.014; OR: 0.987; 95% CI: 0.977-0.997) and obesity (p = 0.015; OR: 2.679; 95% CI: 1.211-5.928) and AD. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that obesity is a shared risk factor for FTD and AD, while smoking plays various roles as a risk factor for FTD and AD.

Anxiety and Depression as Risk Factors in Frontotemporal Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease: The HUNT Study.

Background: The roles of both anxiety and depression as risk factors for frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) have not been previously investigated together. Objective: To study anxiety and depression as independent risk factors for FTD and AD. Methods: Eighty-four patients with FTD and 556 patients with AD were compared with 117 cognitively healthy (CH), elderly individuals. Both cases and controls were participants in the second Health Study of Nord-Trøndelag (HUNT2) from 1995 to 1997, in which depression and anxiety were assessed with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Results: Significant associations were found between anxiety and FTD and between depression and AD. A significantly increased risk of developing FTD was observed in patients who had reported anxiety on the HADS (p = 0.017) (odds ratio [OR]: 2.947, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.209-7.158) and a significantly increased risk of developing AD was observed in patients who had reported depression on the HADS (p = 0.016) (OR: 4.389, 95% CI: 1.311-14.690). Conclusion: Our study findings suggest that anxiety and depression may play different roles as risk factors for FTD and AD.