Risk factors for vascular disease and dementia.

There is increasing evidence that risk factors for vascular disease and stroke are associated with cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease. This paper reviews current knowledge on the relationship between risk factors for stroke and Alzheimer's disease. The focus will be on 'classical' risk factors, including age and gender, socioeconomic status, diabetes, cholesterol, prior cardiovascular disease, atrial fibrillation, cigarette smoking and alcohol use; as well as on factors that more recently have been recognized as putative risk factors, including APOE genotype, serum homocysteine concentration, relative abnormalities in the hemostatic and thrombotic systems, and inflammation.