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AlzRisk Paper Detail
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Reference: Gu, 2010
Cohort: Washington Heights-Inwood Columbia Aging Project
Risk Factor: Dietary Pattern


Exposure Detail
Dietary habits were recorded at baseline using an interviewer-administered 61-item version of the Willett semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Food groups and nutrient intakes were adjusted for caloric intake using the regression residual method (Willett W, Stampfer MJ. Total energy intake: implications for epidemiologic analyses. Am J Epidemiol 1986; 124:17-27).

Reduced rank regression was used to identify linear combinations (in the form of dietary pattern scores) of 30 food groups most predictive of seven nutrients reported to be related to dementia risk from previous literature. Nutrients included those believed to be protective against cognitive decline (monounsaturated fatty acids, n-3 fatty acids, n-6 fatty acids, vitamin B12, folate, vitamin E) and those believed to be harmful (saturated fatty acids). Scores for the dietary pattern most predictive of the seven nutrients were categorized into tertiles.

Screening and Diagnosis Detail
Screening Method:
BDRSBlessed Dementia Rating Scale
Other

AD Diagnosis:
NINCDS ADRDA National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Diseases and Stroke/Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association Criteria (McKhann 1984)

"A consensus diagnosis for the presence or absence of dementia
was made at a diagnostic conference attended by neurologists
and neuropsychologists, using the neuropsychological battery
of tests and evidence of cognitive deficit (based on the neuropsychological scores as described earlier), evidence of impairment in social or occupational function (as assessed by the Blessed Dementia Rating Scale, the Schwab and England Activities of Daily Living Scale, and the physician’s assessment), and evidence of cognitive and social/occupational function decline as compared
with the past, as required by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual
of Mental Disorders (Third Edition Revised). The type of dementia was subsequently determined. For the diagnosis of probable or possible Alzheimer disease (AD), the criteria of the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke–Alzheimer Disease and Related Disorders Association[25] were used"

Covariates & Analysis Detail
Analysis Type:
Cox proportional hazards regression

Follow-up time was the time scale in the proportional hazards analysis.

AD Covariates:
Aage
Eeducation
Ggender
APOE4APOE e4 genotype
BMIbody mass index
Kcalcaloric intake
CIcomorbidity index
ORGCHmember of the original cohort
RErace/ethnicity
SMsmoking status