Kidney Function and the Risk of Stroke and Dementia: The Rotterdam Study

Longitudinal population-based data on effects of kidney dysfunction in the development of stroke and dementia remains inconclusive. We investigated associations of kidney function with risk of stroke and dementia in 5,993 community-dwelling individuals (mean age: 69.0 years, 57.2% women). We calculated estimated glomerular filtration rates based on creatinine, cystatin-C, and a combination of these two. During a mean follow-up of 11.6 years (69,790 person-years), 1,360 individuals suffered a stroke (n = 601) or developed dementia (n = 759) . We found that an impaired kidney function was related to a higher risk of stroke, but not to dementia.