Research Questions: Dementia is a major health problem affecting millions of people worldwide. We know that conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes can increase the risk of dementia, but most of this knowledge comes from studies in Western countries. It is unclear if the same risks apply to other populations. This project will use information from the UK Biobank, a large health database, to compare with data we have from a hospital in China. We will look at how common these vascular risk factors are and how strongly they are linked to dementia in both groups. Our goal is to find out if strategies to prevent dementia should be the same for everyone, or if they need to be tailored for different populations.
Objectives: This study aims to compare the prevalence and strength of association between key vascular risk factors (e.g., hypertension, diabetes) and dementia in a cohort from the UK Biobank and a clinical cohort from a Chinese hospital, to determine if these relationships differ across populations.
Scientific rationale: A significant worldwide public health concern is dementia. Vascular risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia have been shown to be important modifiable determinants of cognitive decline and dementia, including both Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia, based on strong evidence from Western cohorts. Our knowledge of how these correlations apply to non-Western populations-especially the Chinese-who have different genetic backgrounds, lifestyles, and healthcare systems is severely lacking. For example, the prevalence and treatment of hypertension in China and the UK are different, which could alter how it affects brain health. This study uses a direct comparative analysis to try to close this gap.