Congestive heart failure, stroke, coronary heart disease, and diabetes mellitus were negatively associated with cognition in very old adults, with a joint effect of 0.47 standard deviations.
Observational (n=516)
Does cardiovascular and metabolic disease reduce cognitive functioning in very old adults?
Cardiovascular and metabolic diseases are negatively associated with baseline cognitive functioning in very old adults, though they do not appear to cause differential cognitive decline over a 4-year period.
Effect estimate: 0.47 SD
This study documented findings on the relation between cognitive functioning (perceptual speed, memory, fluency, and knowledge) and cardiovascular and metabolic disease in a sample of very old adults (ages 70 and older), both cross-sectionally (n=516) and longitudinally (n=206) in a 4-year follow-up. After age, SES, sex, and dementia status were controlled for, 4 diagnoses were negatively associated with cognition: congestive heart failure, stroke, coronary heart disease, and diabetes mellitus, with a joint effect of 0.47 standard deviations. The impact of disease status was largest on perceptual speed and fluency, memory was impacted only by diabetes, and knowledge was not related to any somatic diagnosis. There was no differential decline in participants diagnosed with 1 of these 4 diseases and those who were not. The only cardiovascular risk factor associated with cognitive performance was alcohol consumption.
Verhaegen et al. (Sat,) conducted a observational in Cardiovascular and metabolic disease (n=516). Cardiovascular and metabolic disease vs. No disease was evaluated on Cognitive functioning (perceptual speed, memory, fluency, and knowledge) (0.47 SD). Congestive heart failure, stroke, coronary heart disease, and diabetes mellitus were negatively associated with cognition in very old adults, with a joint effect of 0.47 standard deviations.