Cognitive Function Assessment in Patients on Moderate- or High-Intensity Statin Therapy

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Neurology
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Cardiovascular diseases are a leading cause of mortality in the USA.
• Statin therapy is crucial for reducing cardiovascular events.
• The relationship between statin use and cognitive impairment lacks definitive consensus.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze cognitive functions in adult patients undergoing moderate-intensity statin therapy (MIST) or high-intensity statin therapy (HIST).
• To investigate the association between statin intensity, duration, and cognitive function.

Main Methods:

• Cognitive assessment testing was performed on 213 adult patients.
• Pearson correlation was used to analyze cognitive scores against statin duration, age, and education.
• Independent t-tests compared cognitive scores based on gender, race, statin type, and comorbidities.

Main Results:

• Cognitive impairment was observed in 17.8% of patients; 41.7% in the HIST group versus 5.7% in the MIST group (P < 0.001).
• No correlation was found between cognitive score and age (r = -0.106).
• Weakly positive correlation between education and cognitive score (r = 0.252); weakly negative correlation between statin duration and cognitive score (r = -0.283).

Conclusions:

• A significantly higher association of cognitive impairment exists in patients on MIST or HIST compared to the general population.
• High-intensity statin therapy (HIST) showed a higher frequency of cognitive impairment than moderate-intensity statin therapy (MIST).
• No correlation between cognitive function and age; weak correlations with education and statin duration were noted.