Most studies on risk factors attempt to identify a link between an individual factor -- mid-life serum cholesterol levels, for example -- and the risk of developing AD. This approach has not been working very well. In fact, age remains the single most potent risk factor for late-onset AD, even though many age-related health problems, such as heart disease, hypertension, stroke, and diabetes, are recognized as AD risk factors, and others -- hyperlipidemia, a sedentary lifestyle, pesticide exposure, dementia in a spouse, and feeling tired, lonely, or unwell -- have been suggested as risk factors, as well. Some researchers suggest that if these individual risk factors are poor at identifying people who are at risk for developing dementia, it may be better to use an integrative approach that estimates the cumulative impact of insults to health.
