Table 2.

Association of midlife blood pressure and cholesterol concentrations with Alzheimer's disease later in life. Values are numbers (percentages) unless otherwise stated

Characteristic	Alzheimer's disease (n=48)	No dementia (n=1352)	Odds ratio (95% CI)
			Model 1*	Model 2*	Model 3*
Systolic blood pressure (mm Hg):
<140 (normal)	12 (25)	606 (44.8)	1.0	1.0	1.0
140-159 (borderline)	20 (42)	484 (35.8)	2.1 (1.0 to 4.3)	1.8 (0.85 to 3.7)	2.1 (0.8 to 5.0)
⩾160 (high)	16 (33)	262 (19.4)	3.1 (1.4 to 6.6)	2.3 (1.0 to 5.0)	2.8 (1.1 to 7.2)
Diastolic blood pressure (mm Hg):
<90 (normal)	21 (44)	704 (52.1)	1.0	1.0	1.0
90-94 (borderline)	9 (19)	289 (21.4)	1.0 (0.47 to 2.3)	1.1 (0.48 to 2.4)	1.4 (0.6 to 3.5)
⩾95 (high)	18 (38)	359 (26.6)	1.7 (0.88 to 3.2)	1.6 (0.84 to 3.2)	1.7 (0.8 to 3.6)
Cholesterol concentration (mmol/l):
<6.5 (normal)	11 (23)	630 (46.6)	1.0	1.0	1.0
⩾6.5 (high)	37 (77)	722 (53.4)	2.9 (1.5 to 5.8)	2.7 (1.4 to 5.4)	2.2 (1.0 to 4.7)
Risk groups I:†
Single risk factor	23 (48)	660 (48.8)	1.0	1.0	1.0
Combined	15 (31)	162 (12.0)	2.7 (1.4 to 4.4)	2.2 (1.1 to 4.4)	3.5 (1.6 to 7.9)
Risk groups II:†
Single risk factor	13 (27)	614 (45.4)	1.0	1.0	1.0
Combined	30 (63)	427 (31.6)	3.3 (1.7 to 6.4)	2.9 (1.5 to 5.7)	2.8 (1.3 to 5.9)

^*Model 1 gives univariate odds ratios for the risk of Alzheimer's disease; model 2 controls for age and body mass index; model 3 controls for age, body mass index, education, history of myocardial infarction and cerebrovascular symptoms, smoking status, and alcohol consumption. 

^†In risk groups I, single risk factor indicates either systolic blood pressure ⩾160 mm Hg or cholesterol ⩾6.5 mmol/l, and combined indicates both of these risk factors. Risk groups II were similar, but the cut-off point for systolic blood pressure was 140 mm Hg.