Cardiometabolic indicators of cognitive impairment in the Cameron County Hispanic Cohort

BackgroundCognitive impairment (CI) and its related risk factors (e.g., diabetes and stroke) are highly prevalent among Hispanic/Latinos (H/L); however, prior research in H/L focused on aging individuals (≥65 years old).ObjectiveTo comprehensively assess the associations between a wide-range of cardiometabolic health indicators and CI using a prospective study design in a younger cohort of H/L (majority <65 years old) from the Cameron County Hispanic Cohort (CCHC).MethodsWe identified a total of 1240 CCHC subjects with complete Mini-Mental Status Exam (MMSE) data at study baseline and at 5-year follow-up. The outcome (i.e., CI) was based on MMSE scores of less than 24. We conducted univariate associations for multiple cardiometabolic indicators with CI; and mixed logistic regression models to estimate odds ratios for the associations between cardiometabolic indicators and CI adjusted for age, education, prior stroke, and APOE gene.ResultsThe majority (89.9%) of the participants were <65 years old. A total of 117 subjects had CI at baseline (9.4%). Baseline study cohort showed that Individuals with CI were older with a lower education performance, and were more likely to be diabetic with lower mean levels of Low-density Lipoprotein, and a higher mean systolic blood pressure. Diabetes significantly increased the odds for CI (OR:2.11, 95%CI:1.26-3.52) from the adjusted multivariate mixed logistic models.ConclusionsThis analysis showed that diabetes was an important indicator for CI regardless of age, education, or APOE gene status. These findings highlight the higher burden of cardiometabolic risk factors on CI in the CCHC cohort.