Cardiovascular disease was a significant predictor of performance on several cognitive subtests, though the pattern of effects was not completely consistent with intellectual decrement over time.
Observational
The relationship between cardiovascular disease (CVD) and intellectual functioning was investigated using a categorical division of a previously studied cross-sequential sample into groups with and without clinical cardiovascular diagnoses during the period of assessment. CVD was found to be a significant predictor of performance on several cognitive subtests, even when chronological age (cohort) was included as a factor in the statistical analysis. However, the pattern of effects was not completely consistent with a model relating CVD to intellectual decrement over time. Further breakdown of subjects into CVD subgroups (e.g., hypertension) showed the CVD effect to be specific to some subgroups, but did not fully resolve the inconsistency with the decremental model. The results also suggest CVD to be one of the factors leading to subsequent attrition from the sequential sample.
Hertzog et al. (Wed,) conducted a observational in Cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular disease vs. No clinical cardiovascular diagnoses was evaluated on Performance on cognitive subtests. Cardiovascular disease was a significant predictor of performance on several cognitive subtests, though the pattern of effects was not completely consistent with intellectual decrement over time.