Overview

• Tracking about 130,000 Stockholm residents aged 65 and over for four years, the study found that 7% developed dementia.
• Moderate albuminuria was associated with roughly a 25% higher risk of dementia, and high levels with about a 37% higher risk, after adjusting for kidney function and other factors.
• The association was strongest for vascular and mixed dementia, supporting a proposed shared small‑vessel pathway between kidney damage and brain decline.
• The Karolinska Institutet analysis, published in the Journal of Internal Medicine, highlights urine testing as a cheap, non‑invasive risk marker that may guide monitoring of high‑risk patients.
• Experts note that some kidney‑protective and diabetes medications can lower urinary protein, but they stress that randomized trials are needed to determine whether such treatments reduce dementia risk.