Clarifying dementia risk factors: treading in murky waters

In light of the growing burden of dementia, continued research into risk factors and potential contributors to disease development is essential. Clearly established risk factors can not only inform our understanding of disease pathophysiology and treatments but also identify potential preventive strategies. While age and the ApoE4 allele have consistently been shown to increase risk of developing dementia (Kukull et al., 2002), other risk factors have been less studied or have had inconsistent findings. The study by Booker and colleagues (Booker et al., 2016) re-examines proposed late-life medical risk factors for incident dementia in a large population-based case-control study. This important contribution is best interpreted in the context of existing research.