New study discovers link between dementia and anaemia
| Aug 6, 2019, 13:18 IST
A new study suggests very low or extremely high levels of haemoglobin can increase a person's risk of developing dementia. Low levels of haemoglobin are a sign that you have anaemia and it can also increase the risk of stroke and coronary heart disease.
Haemoglobin is a protein found in red blood cells that carry oxygen from the lung to the rest of the body. It is responsible for carrying life-giving oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body.Anaemia is a very common blood disorder many people across the globe are prone to.
For the new study, a team from the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands wanted to investigate the relationship between haemoglobin levels, anaemia, and dementia.
After 12 years, the team reassessed the participants and found 1,520 of them had developed dementia. The results showed very low levels or extremly high levels of haemoglobin increased the risk of this disease. "Compared (with) no anaemia, the presence of anaemia was associated with a 34% increase in the risk of all-cause dementia, and (a) 41% increase for (Alzheimer's disease)," the authors of the study are quoted as saying. Adding," (T)he prevalence of dementia is expected to increase threefold over the next decades, with the largest increases predicted in the countries where the anaemia rate is the highest."
The team also believes insufficient amounts of iron can also be an issue. "Iron is vital for various cellular processes in the brain, including neurotransmitter synthesis, mitochondrial function, and myelination of neurons," the authors told a news portal.
The study's finding were originally published in the journal Neurology.
Haemoglobin is a protein found in red blood cells that carry oxygen from the lung to the rest of the body. It is responsible for carrying life-giving oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body.Anaemia is a very common blood disorder many people across the globe are prone to.
For the new study, a team from the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands wanted to investigate the relationship between haemoglobin levels, anaemia, and dementia.
After 12 years, the team reassessed the participants and found 1,520 of them had developed dementia. The results showed very low levels or extremly high levels of haemoglobin increased the risk of this disease. "Compared (with) no anaemia, the presence of anaemia was associated with a 34% increase in the risk of all-cause dementia, and (a) 41% increase for (Alzheimer's disease)," the authors of the study are quoted as saying. Adding," (T)he prevalence of dementia is expected to increase threefold over the next decades, with the largest increases predicted in the countries where the anaemia rate is the highest."
The team also believes insufficient amounts of iron can also be an issue. "Iron is vital for various cellular processes in the brain, including neurotransmitter synthesis, mitochondrial function, and myelination of neurons," the authors told a news portal.
The study's finding were originally published in the journal Neurology.