Osteoporosis Linked with Increased Risk of Later Development of Dementia
The pace of aging varies to some degree between individuals, largely a result of differences in lifestyle and choice. Genetics only begins to significantly influence the outcome at a very late age, and by that time it becomes a question of resilience to high levels of molecular damage. Between 60 and 80, the span of time in which age-related diseases become very prevalent given today's state of medical science, it is the case that very few people can claim genetics to have a significant contribution to their present state of health.
Of the unifying mechanisms one can invoke to explain links between lifestyle and pace of aging, chronic inflammation and raised blood pressure are two of the obvious choices. These two contribute in some way to all of the common age-related conditions, directly or indirectly. So when faced with an epidemiological study that shows a broad correlation between existing osteoporosis and risk of later dementia, chronic inflammation is the obvious candidate. There is plenty of evidence for it to contribute to both disruption of bone maintenance and the progression of neurodegeneration, and lifestyle choices such as exercise and weight gain both strongly influence the state of chronic inflammation in later life.
"There is big interest in the relationship between osteoporosis and dementia. This study is the first to address this question in a very large database enabling the case-control-comparison between patients with and without osteoporosis." This retrospective cohort study used data from the Disease Analyzer database (IQVIA), which compiles information on drug prescriptions, diagnoses, and demographic data obtained directly and in anonymous format from computer systems used by general practitioners and specialists. This database has already been used in several studies focusing on osteoporosis and dementia in recent years.
The study included patients diagnosed with osteoporosis between January 1993 and December 2012 (index date) and were followed for up to 20 years. After applying similar inclusion criteria, controls were matched (1:1) to osteoporosis patients using propensity scores based on age, gender, index year, several comorbidities, and co-therapies. The main outcome of the study was to determine the proportion of patients with all-cause-dementia diagnoses within 20 years of the index date.
The study included 29,983 patients with osteoporosis and 29,983 controls without osteoporosis. After 20 years of follow-up, 20.5% of women with osteoporosis and 16.4% of controls had been diagnosed with dementia. At the end of the follow-up period, dementia was found in 22.0% of men previously diagnosed with osteoporosis and 14.9% of men without this chronic condition. Osteoporosis was associated with a 1.2-fold increase in the risk of being diagnosed with dementia in women and a 1.3-fold increase in the risk of being diagnosed with dementia in men.
"The major hypothesis to explain the association between osteoporosis and dementia is that these two conditions have similar risk factors. These factors include APOE4 allele of the apolipoprotein E, a major cholesterol carrier, lower vitamin K levels, vitamin D deficiency, but also androgens and estrogens." The main limitations of the study are missing data on bone mineral density and on lifestyle-related risk factors (e.g., smoking, alcohol, and physical activity).
Bones deforms and change shape as we age (in face and body), we will have to return them to a normal shape, this is a hard task that will need to be solved if we want a true rejuvenation.
I wonder if the loss of calcium from bones ending up in arteries and perhaps the cribriform plate (i.e., Leucadia), is part of the answer.
@RS,
yes. It is true. And it is not only bones. Cartilage grows over the years too. Like the nose and years. Gums recede ( here it might be about inflammation, though). Teeth wear off and don't really regenerate. But those are smaller problems in the face of the age related kids off function across the board. If we can print organs, with the adequate innervation and vascularisation, then the will be a set of plastic surgery treatments. Looks years, nose, some bone outgrows ( btw, I think they're are genuine medical conditions of the feet where some bones keep growing and deform the ferry or cause pain. And probably those are not about getting old and frail. Just the continuation of the growth process). Anyway, the modern medicine is pretty good at fixing single issues surgically, if you are otherwise healthy.
But let's jump from that bridge when we reach it..
@Gary
I would say it is rather part of the question ;)
Use of vitamin K antagonists has been linked to both osteoporosis and dementia; I'm guessing they controlled for that in the study, but it's interesting to note anyway. Could increasing intake of vitamin K help prevent both? Can't say for sure based on current research.
Could boron supplementation help? There's some research suggesting boron might be useful for bone health, but apparently no specific studies on boron and dementia.
Nothing Boring About Boron
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4712861/
Osteoporosis is treated with testosterone, so actually testosterone administration prevents dementia. Boron displaces testosterone from SHBG and increases levels of free testosterone.
Against dementia is also the steroid hormone progesterone and mineral lithium. Both of them improve potency and erection. This is not very good in a person suffering from dementia.