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Published on: January 11, 2020
Cardiometabolic multimorbidity accelerates cognitive decline and dementia progression
Abigail Dove1, Anna Marseglia2, Ying Shang3
1Aging Research Center, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Insights
Multiple cardiometabolic diseases (CMDs) significantly accelerate cognitive decline and increase the risk of cognitive impairment, no dementia (CIND), and dementia in older adults.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Gerontology
- Cardiology
Background:
- Cardiometabolic diseases (CMDs) are individually linked to cognitive decline.
- The combined impact of multiple CMDs on cognitive health remains under-investigated.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the cumulative effect of cardiometabolic diseases on cognitive function in older adults.
- To determine if cardiometabolic multimorbidity accelerates cognitive decline and the onset of dementia.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study of 2577 dementia-free adults aged 60+ over 12 years.
- Assessed cardiometabolic diseases (type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke) and cardiometabolic multimorbidity (≥2 CMDs) at baseline.
- Utilized linear mixed-effects models, Cox regression, and Laplace regression to analyze cognitive changes and incident cognitive impairment, no dementia (CIND) and dementia.
Main Results:
- Cardiometabolic multimorbidity was significantly associated with accelerated cognitive decline.
- Increased risk of CIND (HR 1.73) and dementia (HR 1.86) observed with CMD multimorbidity.
- CMD multimorbidity advanced the onset of CIND by 2.3 years and dementia by 1.8 years.
Conclusions:
- Cardiometabolic multimorbidity accelerates cognitive decline and elevates the risk of cognitive impairment and dementia.
- Targeting co-morbid CMDs may be crucial for interventions aimed at preserving cognitive health in aging populations.
Introduction:
Cardiometabolic diseases (CMDs) have been individually associated with adverse cognitive outcomes, but their combined effect has not been investigated.
Methods:
A total of 2577 dementia-free participants 60 years of age or older were followed for 12 years to observe changes in cognitive function and to detect incident cognitive impairment, no dementia (CIND) and dementia. CMDs (including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke) were assessed at baseline through medical records and clinical examinations. Cardiometabolic multimorbidity was defined as the presence of two or more CMDs. Data were analyzed using multi-adjusted linear mixed-effects models, Cox regression, and Laplace regression.
Results:
CMD multimorbidity was associated with cognitive decline, CIND (hazard ratio [HR] 1.73; 95% confidence interval CI 1.23 to 2.44), and its progression to dementia (HR 1.86; 95% CI 1.17 to 2.97). CMD multimorbidity accelerated the onset of CIND by 2.3 years and dementia by 1.8 years.
Conclusions:
CMD multimorbidity accelerates cognitive decline and increases the risk of both CIND and its conversion to dementia.
Highlights:
We explored the combined impact of cardiometabolic diseases (CMDs) on cognition. An increasing number of CMDs dose-dependently accelerated cognitive decline. CMD multimorbidity increased the risk of both cognitive impairment and dementia. Co-morbid CMDs could be ideal targets for interventions to protect cognitive health.
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