Body height and late-life cognition among patients with atherothrombotic disease

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cardiology
• Human Biology

Background:

• Height is known to correlate with reduced risks of stroke and dementia.
• Investigating the link between stature and cognitive performance is crucial for understanding brain health.
• Vascular disease extent may mediate the relationship between height and cognition.

Purpose of the Study:

• To test the hypothesis that greater height is associated with enhanced cognitive performance.
• To determine if vascular disease mediates the association between height and cognitive function.
• To analyze cognitive performance and impairment risk across height quartiles in coronary heart disease patients.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of 536 coronary heart disease patients (mean age 57.9 years, 94.6% males) was assessed 15 years after a clinical trial.
• Cognitive function was evaluated using the Mindstreams computerized battery, assessing overall performance and specific domains.
• Cognitive impairment was defined as a score ≤85 (1 SD below the mean); analyses compared impairment risk and cognitive scores by height quartiles.

Main Results:

• Among 536 patients, 23.2% exhibited cognitive impairment.
• Increasing height quartiles were associated with a decreased odds ratio for visual-spatial domain impairment (P=0.018).
• One standard deviation increase in height correlated with higher global cognitive scores (β=1.98, P=0.004), executive function, attention, and visual-spatial scores.

Conclusions:

• In coronary heart disease patients, greater stature is linked to a lower risk of visual-spatial cognitive impairment.
• Higher stature is associated with improved overall cognitive performance, including executive function and attention.
• The findings contribute to understanding the multifaceted relationship between physical characteristics and cognitive health.