Acute kidney injury (AKI) is associated with an increased risk of developing dementia, according to a new study by researchers at the Karolinska Institutet and others published in the journal Neurology.
AKI, a sudden worsening of kidney function, is relatively common in older people and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Previous studies have suggested a possible link between AKI and brain injury.
The current study investigated the association between AKI and different types of dementia. The researchers analyzed data from more than 300,000 individuals over the age of 65 from the Stockholm CREAtinine Measurement (SCREAM) project in Sweden. Approximately one in four participants experienced at least one episode of AKI during an average follow-up period of 12 years, and 16 percent were diagnosed with dementia.
Individuals with acute kidney injury had a 49 percent higher risk of developing any form of dementia. When analyzing individual dementia types separately, the increased risk was 88 percent for Lewy body dementia or Parkinson's-related dementia, 47 percent for vascular dementia, and 31 percent for Alzheimer's disease. The increased risk was even higher in individuals with severe kidney damage requiring hospitalization or outpatient treatment.
