Effect of Inflammatory Status on the Association Between Cardiovascular Health and Cognitive Function: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract Background: Information related to the association between cardiovascular health (CVH) level and cognitive dysfunction in the Korean population is very limited. The objective of our study was to investigate the effect of inflammatory status on the association between CVH and cognition.Methods: Data were obtained from the baseline assessments of the Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases Etiology Research Center study. Participants who completed fasting serum analysis, questionnaires, and cognitive function tests were included in the analyses, whereas those with a history of autoimmune disease were excluded. Cardiovascular Health in Ambulatory Care Research Team health index metrics, including smoking, physical activity, healthy diet, obesity, history of hypertension, and history of diabetes, were used to assess CVH. Cognitive function was evaluated with the Korean version of the Mini-Mental State Estimation for Dementia Screening. Inflammatory status was assessed based on a high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) test.Results: Among 2,622 total participants (mean age 57.2 years; 1,792 women [68.3%]), 342 (13%), 1,520 (58%), and 760 (29%) had poor, intermediate, or ideal CVH, respectively. Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that CVH was not significantly associated with cognitive function. We further investigated the association between each component of CVH and low cognitive function by determining the hs-CRP level. Results showed that the only component affecting the association was hypertension history in men.Conclusions: Our findings suggest that CVH is not significantly associated with cognitive function in the middle-aged Korean population. In addition, inflammatory status had no significant effect on the association, and the only CVH-related factor affecting the association was hypertension history.Trial registration: KCT0001038, Clinical Research Information Service (CRIS)