IMPORTANCE Previous estimates suggested that 1 in 3 cases of Alzheimer disease and related dementia (ADRDs) in the US are associated with modifiable risk factors, the most prominent being physical inactivity, depression, and smoking. However, these estimates do not account for changes in risk factor prevalence over the past decade and do not consider potential differences by sex or race and ethnicity.OBJECTIVE To update estimates of the proportion of ADRDs in the US that are associated with modifiable risk factors and to assess for differences by sex and race and ethnicity.
DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTSFor this cross-sectional study, risk factor prevalence and communality were obtained from the nationally representative US Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey data from January 2018 to December 2018, and relative risks for each risk factor were extracted from meta-analyses. Data were analyzed from December 2020 to August 2021. Respondents included 378 615 noninstitutionalized adults older than 18 years. The number before exclusion was 402 410. Approximately 23 795 (~6%) had missing values on at least 1 of the variables of interest.
Highlights
Aerobic physical activity interventions had a large effect on memory.
Aerobic physical activity interventions had a small effect on executive function.
Meeting U.S. physical activity guidelines resulted in a large effect on memory.
Studies with a no treatment control had a large effect on memory.
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