Prevalence and co-occurrence of dementia risk factors in Denmark: A nationwide study

The clustering of dementia risk factors is common and has implications for policies targeting risk reduction.

To estimate the prevalence of 16 dementia risk factors and their co-occurrence.

Cross-sectional based on a closed cohort on 1 January 2022 with nationwide data on risk factors from 1969/1977.

Denmark PARTICIPANTS: Whole population; closed cohort of individuals ≥65 years on 1 January 2022, and a subpopulation of responders in the 2010/2013 Danish National Health Survey.

Sixteen dementia risk factors: hypertension, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, obesity, smoking, alcohol, physical inactivity, depression, hearing loss, vision impairment, traumatic brain injury, sleep disorders, hospital-diagnosed infections, social isolation, and low education.

Period and point prevalence proportions of the dementia risk factors and of all possible combinations of factors (those occurring in ≥10 % of individuals). The prevalence estimates reflect a population-level view of persons who have experienced, were diagnosed, or were treated for the risk factors assessed.

In the whole population (N = 1,214,286) and the subpopulation (N = 88,565), 5 % had no risk factors, 12 % had only one, and 82 % had multiple. Hypertension was the most prevalent (57 %), and vision impairment the least (2 %). Men, individuals ≥85 years, and those with low education had the highest prevalence of risk factors (with exceptions).

Clustering of risk factors is very common, and findings emphasize the need to focus on multidomain interventions for dementia risk reduction that account for the clustering of risk.