Kidney Hemodialysis Tied to Higher Risk of Dementia

Older adults on hemodialysis are at an increased risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, a new study published in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN) suggests. 

Researchers studied 356,668 patients aged 66 years or older who were on hemodialysis between Jan. 1, 2001, and Dec. 31, 2013, using data from the U.S. Renal Data System linked to Medicare. The greatest independent risk factors for dementia and Alzheimer’s were being aged 86 years or older (dementia: hazard ratio [hr] 2.11; Alzheimer’s: hr, 2.11), black (dementia: hr, 1.70; Alzheimer’s: hr, 1.78), female (dementia: hr, 1.10; Alzheimer’s: hr, 1.12), and institutionalized (dementia: hr, 1.36; Alzheimer’s: hr, 1.10). 

Elderly Dialysis Patients Have a Higher Risk of Dementiahttps://t.co/MbWqy4ttTN
Older kidney disease patients who are sick enough to require the blood-filtering treatment known as dialysis are at high risk of dementia.#dialysis #dementia #neuroscience #science #neurology

— Neuroscience News (@NeuroscienceNew) August 10, 2018

Across races and genders, older kidney dialysis patients diagnosed with dementia had a two-fold mortality risk.  

Study authors could not determine what aspect of dialysis led to the heightened dementia and Alzheimer’s risk. 

“[O]ur findings don’t indicate that dialysis treatment itself is what’s increasing the risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease,” lead study author Dr. Mara A. McAdams-DeMarco, Department of Epidemiology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, told Healthline. 

Why do more women than men develop dementia?

Read more: https://t.co/9s8cPYatx6 pic.twitter.com/wIvjeZN8r9

— Alzheimer's Research UK (@AlzResearchUK) August 11, 2018

Women faced higher risks of diagnosis than men in both dementia and Alzheimer’s. For dementia, the risks of diagnosis for women after one year and five years were 4.6% and 16%, respectively, and for men were 3.7% and 13%, respectively. For Alzheimer’s, one- and five-year risks in diagnosis for women were 0.6% and 2.6%, respectively, and for men were 0.4% and 2.0%, respectively. 

Previous studies have found women are at an increased risk for developing Alzheimer’s. But researchers were not sure why disparities existed for women and minority patients specifically in hemodialysis patients. 

“Our study was not able to tease apart why blacks, Hispanics, or women on dialysis were more likely to be diagnosed with dementia,” DeMarco said to Healthline. 

Source: Healthline, CJASN