The aim of this project is to investigate how statin use is associated with dementia risk and cognitive decline, and how these associations vary according to cardiovascular health and other individual characteristics, using UK Biobank data.
The primary research questions are:
(1) How is statin use associated with long-term dementia risk and cognitive trajectories at the population level?
(2) Do different types of statins show different associations with cognitive outcomes?
The objectives of the project are to:
* Analyse longitudinal associations between statin use, cardiovascular measures, and cognitive outcomes.
* Examine heterogeneity of effects across subgroups defined by age, sex, and cardiovascular risk profiles.
* Integrate clinical, and imaging-derived phenotypes to better characterise pathways linking cardiovascular health and brain ageing.
The scientific rationale is that cardiovascular disease and dementia share overlapping biological mechanisms, including vascular dysfunction, lipid metabolism, and inflammation. Statins are widely prescribed and represent a plausible intervention through which cardiovascular risk modification may influence cognitive outcomes. However, existing evidence remains inconsistent, partly due to limited integration of longitudinal, multimodal data.