Associations Between Parity and Cognition: Race/Ethnic Differences.

BACKGROUND: Race/ethnicity is associated with differences in reproductive history and cognition individually, yet it remains an understudied factor in the relationship between parity and later-life cognition. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate if the association between parity and cognition differs between racial/ethnic groups. METHODS: Participants included 778 older, postmenopausal women from the Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (Latina: n = 178, Non-Latino Black [NLB]: n = 169, Non-Latino White [NLW]: n = 431) who self-reported at least one birth. Cognitive outcomes included working memory, learning memory, and verbal fluency. Covariates included age, education, cardiovascular and other reproductive health factors, adult socioeconomic status (SES) and depressive symptoms. We fit a series of linear models to examine a) whether parity was associated with cognitive functioning, b) if this association varied by race/ethnicity through parity by race/ethnicity interactions, and c) individual parity with cognition associations stratified by race/ethnicity. RESULTS: In the full sample, parity was significantly negatively associated with Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST) performance (b = -0.70, p = 0.024) but not Animal Fluency or word-list learning and memory. Tests of race/ethnicity-by-parity interactions were not statistically significant (ps > 0.05). However, stratified analyses by race/ethnicity showed a differential effect of parity on DSST performance, such that parity was significantly negatively associated with DSST performance (b = -1.66, p = 0.007) among Latinas but not in NLWs (b = -0.16, p = 0.74) or NLBs (b = -0.81, p = 0.191). CONCLUSION: Among Latina, but not NLB or NLW women, greater parity was associated with worse processing speed/executive functioning later in life. Further research is needed to understand the mechanisms driving racial/ethnic differences.

Frequency of Parkinsonism and Parkinson Disease in African Americans in the Chicago Community.

BACKGROUND: There is paucity of data about African American (AA) patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and parkinsonism which may precede PD in older adults. Prior studies suggest that there are lower rates of PD in the AA population, with more cognitive impairment in AA with PD. This study aimed to investigate differences in PD, parkinsonism, and cognition between White and AA populations in 3 longitudinal epidemiologic cohort studies of aging. METHODS: This study examined parkinsonism, PD frequency, and cognition of community-dwelling older individuals in 3 longitudinal epidemiologic cohort studies. Parkinsonism was based on an exam utilizing the modified Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale performed by a nurse. PD was based on self-report, medications used for treatment of PD, and examination findings. Cognition was assessed using 19 performance-based tests that assess 5 cognitive domains. RESULTS: AA participants were less likely to have parkinsonism compared to Whites, even with age and gender differences. Frequency of PD was not significant between groups. AA were more likely to have lower cognitive scores as compared to Whites. AA were less likely to have parkinsonism even with controlling for cognitive differences between groups. CONCLUSIONS: Parkinsonian signs are present among AA in the community at lower rates than in White individuals. Cognitive profiles of AA and Whites with parkinsonism may be different, suggesting differing contributions of pathology to cognitive decline and parkinsonism between groups. Additional research is needed to understand the progression of parkinsonism to PD, as well as to understanding the cognitive differences in AA with parkinsonism.

Association of Blood Pressure and Cognition after Stroke.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: It is unclear whether blood pressure (BP) is associated with cognition after stroke. We examined associations between systolic and diastolic BP (SBP, DBP), pulse pressure (PP), mean arterial pressure (MAP), and cognition, each measured 90 days after stroke. METHODS: Cross-sectional analysis of prospectively obtained data of 432 dementia-free subjects greater than or equal to 45 (median age, 66; 45% female) with stroke (92% ischemic; median NIH stroke score, 3 [IQR, 2-6]) from the population-based Brain Attack Surveillance in Corpus Christi (BASIC) project in 2011-2013. PRIMARY OUTCOME: Modified Mini-Mental Status Examination (3MSE; range, 0-100). SECONDARY OUTCOMES: Animal Fluency Test (AFT; range, 0-10) and Trail Making Tests A and B (number of correct items [range, 0-25]/completion time [Trails A: 0-180 seconds; Trails B: 0-300 second]). Linear or tobit regression adjusted associations for age, education, and race/ethnicity as well as variables significantly associated with BP and cognition. RESULTS: Higher SBP, lower DBP, higher PP, and lower MAP each were associated with worse cognitive performance for all 4 tests (all P < .001). After adjusting for patient factors, no BP measures were associated with any of the 4 tests (all P > .05). Lower cognitive performance was associated with older age, less education, Mexican American ethnicity, diabetes, higher stroke severity, more depressive symptoms, and lower BMI. Among survivors with hypertension, anti-hypertensive medication use 90 days after stroke was significantly associated with higher AFT scores (P = .02) but not other tests (P > .15). CONCLUSIONS: Stroke survivors' BP levels were not associated with cognitive performance at 90 days independent of sociodemographic and clinical factors.

Cell phone and technology use by octogenarians.

INTRODUCTION Many countries, including New Zealand, have an aging population and new technologies such as cell phones may be useful for older people. AIM To examine cell phone and technology use by octogenarians. METHODS Te Puawaitanga O Nga Tapuwae Kia Ora Tonu- Life and Living in Advanced Age: A Cohort Study In New Zealand (LILACs NZ) cohort study data of Maori (aged 80-90 years, 11-year age band) and non-Maori (aged 85 years, 1-year age band) followed for 3 years was used to describe the prevalence among study participants of the use of the internet, cell phones and watching pay-per-view television. Association of these activities with living arrangement, congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive respiratory disease and participants' cognition were examined. RESULTS Technology use was relatively low among study octogenarians. Fewer Maori used cell phones and the internet (16% and 6%) than non-Maori (30% and 19%). Maori participants supported only by a pension were less likely to use cell phones than Maori with more income. More men watched pay-per-view television (e.g. SKY) than women. Living alone and having chronic lung disease were associated with not watching pay-per-view television. Participants who used the internet had higher cognition scores than others. Non-Maori women were less likely to watch pay-per-view television and non-Maori on a pension only were less likely to watch pay-per-view television than people on a higher income. Participants who lived alone were less likely to watch pay-per-view. CONCLUSION Relatively low use of technology may limit potential for health technology innovation for people of advanced age. Socioeconomic and ethnic disparities will amplify this.

Subjective Memory Complaints in White and African American Participants.

OBJECTIVE: Subjective memory complaints (SMCs) are associated with mild cognitive impairment and dementia but are understudied in African Americans (AAs). We compared SMC endorsement in white and AA participants and evaluated predictors of diagnostic progression. METHODS: Initial visit variables, including SMC and memory performance, were compared within a cognitively normal race-matched sample of white and AA participants (Ntotal = 912; 456each race) to assess the presence and predictors of SMC, the predictors of future diagnostic progression, and the change in memory performance over time. RESULTS: More white (32.9%) than AA (24.3%) participants reported SMC (P < .01, ϕ = -.10). Subjective memory complaint was predicted by memory performance (B = -0.03, standard error [SE] = 0.013, odds ratio [OR] = .968, P < .05) and race (B = -0.99, SE = 0.080, OR = .373, P < .001). Subjective memory complaints and memory performance were associated with progression, χ2 (3, n = 912) = 102.37, P < .001. African American race (-2.05 ± 0.24 SE) and SMC (-0.45 ± 0.21 SE) were associated with worse memory performance at baseline and over time, χ2(3) = 13.54, P < .01. CONCLUSIONS: In contrast to previous research, our study found that SMC is associated with diagnostic progression and objective memory declines in both white and AA participants.

Differences in the Associations Between Memory Complaints and Depressive Symptoms Among Black and White Older Adults.

OBJECTIVE: To test whether race (specifically Black or White) moderates the relationship between memory complaints and depressive symptoms in cognitively normal older adults, and if these relationships vary by memory complaint characteristics. METHODS: Data from Black (n = 551) and White (n = 1,158) cognitively intact participants (Mage = 77.1, SD = 7.5; 76.6% female) in the Minority Aging Research Study and the Rush Memory and Aging Project were used. Participants completed annual clinical evaluations, including the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale and two memory complaint questions, over periods of up to 18 years. Ordinal mixed effects models were used to examine within-person relationships between memory complaints and depressive symptoms over time, as well as whether race moderated these associations. RESULTS: Reports of greater memory change over time were associated with more depressive symptoms for both Black and White older adults. However, reports of greater frequency of memory problems were related to depressive symptoms for Black older adults only. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest differential associations between memory complaints and depressive symptoms in cognitively normal Black and White older adults and call for future research to examine the influence of race and related factors on memory complaints and depressive symptoms.

Multivariate Base Rates of Low Scores on Tests of Learning and Memory among Spanish-Speaking Children.

To determine the prevalence of low scores on two neuropsychological tests commonly used to evaluate learning and memory in children. 6,030 healthy children from 10 countries in Latin America and Spain were administered Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure (ROCF) and the Test de Aprendizaje y Memoria Verbal-Infantil (TAMV-I). Results showed that low scores are common when multiple neuropsychological outcomes (tests and/or scores) are evaluated in healthy individuals. Clinicians should consider the higher probability of low scores in a given individual when evaluating learning and memory using various sets of scores to reduce false-positive diagnoses of cognitive deficits in pediatric populations.

The influence of personality on memory self-report among black and white older adults.

Self-reported memory problems are often the first indicator of cognitive decline; however, they are inconsistently associated with objective memory performance and are known to be influenced by individual factors, such as personality. The current study examined the relationships between personality traits and self-reported memory problems in cognitively intact older adults, and whether these associations differ across Black and White older adults. Data were collected annually via in-person comprehensive medical and neuropsychological examinations as part of the Einstein Aging Study. Community-dwelling older adults in an urban, multi-ethnic area of New York City were interviewed. The current study included a total of 425 older adults (Mage = 76.68, SD = 4.72, 62.59% female; 72.00% White). Multilevel modeling tested the associations of neuroticism, conscientiousness, extraversion, openness, and agreeableness with self-reported memory problems. Results showed that neuroticism was positively related to frequency of memory problems and perceived ten-year memory decline only when other personality traits were not accounted for. Extraversion was negatively related to frequency of memory problems and perceived ten-year decline for both White and Black participants. However, conscientiousness was negatively related to perceived ten-year decline for Black participants only. Our findings highlight the importance of examining the association of all five personality traits with self-reported memory problems, as well as examining whether these associations differ for participants from different race/ethnicities.

The associations between subjective and objective cognitive functioning across manic or hypomanic, depressed, and euthymic states in Chinese bipolar patients.

BACKGROUND: Patients may present cognitive deficits during all stages of bipolar disorder (BD). Few studies have examined self-reported cognitive difficulties and its relation to neurocognitive dysfunction during symptomatic periods of BD. This study aimed to compare subjective cognitive functioning and explore associations between subjective and objective cognitive functioning across different BD clinical states, and investigate the predicting and moderating roles of mood symptoms. METHODS: Subjective cognitive functioning (measured by Cognitive Complaints in Bipolar Disorder Rating Assessment, COBRA) and several domains of cognitive functioning (assessed by a neuropsychological battery), including executive functions, attention and processing speed, and visual memory, were examined in 48 hypomanic or manic patients, 42 depressed bipolar patients, 50 euthymic bipolar patients and 60 healthy comparisons. RESULTS: All patients exhibited subjective and objective cognitive deficits in relation to healthy comparisons. There was a significant association between subjective and objective cognitive functioning in euthymic group, but the association was not significant in acute symptomatic groups, which could be moderated by depressive or manic symptoms in depressive or manic group, respectively. Subjective cognitive functioning was significantly correlated with mood symptoms, and the best predictor of subjective cognitive functioning was depressive symptoms. LIMITATIONS: This was a cross-sectional study with a mixed sample of inpatients and outpatients. The medication effect was not adjusted. CONCLUSIONS: The associations between subjective and objective cognitive dysfunction varied in clinical states, and mood symptoms moderated the associations. A neuropsychological test battery is required to substantiate actual cognitive dysfunction in clinical settings, irrespective of subjective cognitive deficits.

Trajectories of Nonagenarian Health: Sex, Age, and Period Effects.

The US population aged 90 years or more is growing rapidly, and there are limited data on their health. The Cardiovascular Health Study is a prospective study of black and white adults aged ≥65 years recruited in 2 waves (1989-1990 and 1992-1993) from Medicare eligibility lists in Forsyth County, North Carolina; Sacramento County, California; Washington County, Maryland; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We created a synthetic cohort of the 1,889 participants who had reached age 90 years at baseline or during follow-up through July 16, 2015. Participants entered the cohort at 90 years of age, and we evaluated their changes in health after age 90 years (median duration of follow-up, 3 years (interquartile range, 1.3-5)). Measures of health included cardiovascular events, cognitive function, depressive symptoms, prescription medications, self-rated health, and functional status. The mortality rate was high: 19.0 per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval : 17.8, 20.3) in women and 20.9 per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval: 19.2, 22.8) in men. Cognitive function and all measures of functional status declined with age; these changes were similar by sex. When we isolated period effects, we found that medication use increased over time. These estimates can help inform future research and can help health-care systems meet the needs of this growing population.

Prospective associations between cardiac stress, glucose dysregulation and executive cognitive function in Black men: The Sympathetic activity and Ambulatory Blood Pressure in Africans study.

OBJECTIVE: Glucose dysregulation is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular and neurodegenerative disease development through synaptic dysfunction resulting in cognitive decline. The aim of this study was to study the interplay between impaired glycaemic metabolism (hyperglycaemia and insulin resistance), cardiac stress (cardiac troponin T and N-terminal brain natriuretic peptide) and executive cognitive function prospectively, in a bi-ethnic sex cohort. METHODS: Black and White teachers (N = 338, aged 20-63 years) from the Sympathetic activity and Ambulatory Blood Pressure in Africans study were monitored over a 3-year period. Fasting blood samples were obtained for cardiac troponin T, N-terminal brain natriuretic peptide, glycated haemoglobin and the homeostatic model assessment-insulin resistance for insulin resistance. The Stroop colour-word conflict test was applied to assess executive cognitive function at baseline. RESULTS: Over the 3-year period, Black men revealed constant high levels of cardiac troponin T (⩾4.2 ng/L), pre-diabetes (glycated haemoglobin > 5.7%) and insulin resistance (homeostatic model assessment-insulin resistance >3). %Δ Glycated haemoglobin was associated with %Δ insulin resistance (p < 0.001) and increases in %ΔN-terminal brain natriuretic peptide (p = 0.02) in Black men only. In the latter, baseline Stroop colour-word conflict test was inversely associated with %Δ cardiac troponin T (p = 0.001) and %Δ insulin resistance levels (p = 0.01). CONCLUSION: Progressive myocyte stretch and chronic myocyte injury, coupled with glucose dysregulation, may interfere with processes related to interference control in Black men.

Cultural validation of the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination Version III Urdu for the British Urdu-speaking population: a qualitative assessment using cognitive interviewing.

OBJECTIVES: Our research determined whether the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination Version III (ACE-III) Urdu eliminated cultural bias through a qualitative assessment of its understanding and acceptability within the British Urdu-speaking population, employing cognitive interviews. METHOD: We aimed to recruit 25 participants fluent in speaking and writing Urdu, over the age of 60 years, able to give informed consent and who did not have a history of cognitive impairment. Participants were administered the ACE-III Urdu, and cognitive interviews were conducted, which involve obtaining verbal data on the individual's perception of the assessment overall, their understanding of the mental processes behind how they interpreted questions within the assessment and how they produced appropriate responses. This allows us to gauge the participants' overall thoughts on the Urdu ACE-III before applying question-formatted prompts to every ACE-III Urdu item. RESULTS: We recruited 25 participants, 12 women (48%), ranging from ages 60 years to 85 years (M=69.12, SD=6.57), all from Greater Manchester. Participants came from varied socioeconomic backgrounds, with 22 identifying as Pakistani, one as British Pakistani and two as East African. Across 19 ACE-III Urdu items, 7 required changes based on participant feedback: item 5a: fluency; items 6, 18 and 19: memory; items 12 and 13: language; and item 17: visuospatial abilities.The need for some of these changes was realised after 21 participants, due to persistently reoccurring issues, and these were applied before the last four participants. Overall, the ACE-III Urdu was considered easy and straightforward by all 25 participants, who understood items and felt the ACE-III Urdu was appropriate, not just for them, but for British Urdu speakers in general. CONCLUSION: Our cognitive interviews determined the ACE-III Urdu was acceptable, especially with regards to cultural context, but further changes were made to ensure understanding. Therefore, we adapted the ACE-III Urdu in accordance with feedback, resulting in our finalised version being culturally validated.

Prospective Associations of Erythrocyte Composition and Dietary Intake of n-3 and n-6 PUFA with Measures of Cognitive Function.

Polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) consumption is recommended as part of a healthy diet, but evidence of the impact of individual species and biological concentrations on cognitive function is limited. We examined prospective associations of PUFA erythrocyte composition and dietary intake with measures of cognitive function among participants of the Boston Puerto Rican Health Study (aged 57 years). Erythrocyte and dietary PUFA composition were ascertained at baseline and associated with 2-year scores on the Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE) (n = 1032) and cognitive domain patterns derived from a battery of tests (n = 865), as well as with incidence of cognitive impairment. Erythrocyte and dietary n-3 PUFA were not significantly associated with MMSE score. However, total erythrocyte and dietary n-3 very-long-chain fatty acids (VLCFA), and intake of individual species, were associated with better executive function (P-trend < 0.05, for all). There was evidence that greater erythrocyte n-6 eicosadienoic acid concentration was associated with lower MMSE and executive function scores (P-trend = 0.02). Only erythrocyte arachidonic acid (ARA) concentration predicted cognitive impairment (Odds Ratio = 1.26; P = 0.01). Among Puerto Rican adults, we found that n-3 VLCFA consumption may beneficially impact executive function. Further, these findings provide some evidence that n-6 metabolism favoring greater ARA tissue incorporation, but not necessarily dietary intake, could increase the risk of cognitive impairment.

Influential factors on cognitive performance in middle-aged cohort: Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey-based study.

Aging-associated cognitive decline is closely linked to illness, dementia, increased mortality, and is a major health and social issue. The purpose of this study was to determine modifiable factors associated with cognitive performance.We analyzed data from a random sample of participants of the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which is a cross-sectional survey, of the US population, aged 20 to 59 years, who underwent computer-based neurocognitive testing. There were 5 outcome measures in 3 neurocognitive tests: the mean of simple reaction time test, the mean total latency of the symbol digit substitution test (SDST), the average number of errors of the SDST, the average trials to criterion of the serial digit learning test (SDLT), and the average total score of the SDLT.Socioeconomic status, including older age, black ethnicity, lower income ratio, and lower education level, were associated with poorer neurocognitive function in all analyzed tests. In addition, participants with poor health, nonsmokers, and nondrinkers performed worse in all administered tests compared with individuals with good health, smokers, and participants consuming alcoholic beverages. Dietary and biochemical characteristics of the blood were not consistently associated with neurocognitive performance.Our results indicate that socioeconomic factors, health-related and dietary habits, biochemical parameters of the blood, and job category were associated with neurocognitive performance in visual attention, learning, and concentration in a large, nationally representative sample of healthy, ethnically diverse 20 to 59-year-olds. Future studies are needed to understand the mechanisms of cognitive aging and the factors that contribute to its individual differences.

Differential Impact of Index Stroke on Dementia Risk in African-Americans Compared to Whites.

OBJECTIVE: To compare whites and African-Americans in terms of dementia risk following index stroke. METHODS: The data consisted of billing and International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision diagnosis codes from the South Carolina Revenue and Fiscal Affairs office on all hospital discharges within the state between 2000 and 2012. The sample consisted of 68,758 individuals with a diagnosis of ischemic stroke prior to 2010 (49,262 white [71.65%] and 19,496 African-Americans [28.35%]). We identified individuals in the dataset who were subsequently diagnosed with any of 5 categories of dementia and evaluated time to dementia diagnosis in Cox Proportional Hazards models. We plotted cumulative hazard curves to illustrate the effect of race on dementia risk after controlling for age, sex, and occurrence of intervening stroke. RESULTS: Age at index stroke was significantly different between the 2 groups, with African-Americans being younger on average (70.0 [SD 12.5] in whites versus 64.5 [SD 14.1] in African-Americans, P < .0001). Adjusted hazard ratios revealed that African-American race increased risk for all 5 categories of dementia following incident stroke, ranging from 1.37 for AD to 1.95 for vascular dementia. Age, female sex, and intervening stroke likewise increased risk for dementia. CONCLUSIONS: African-Americans are at higher risk for dementia than whites within 5 years of ischemic stroke, regardless of dementia subtype. Incident strokes may have a greater likelihood of precipitating dementia in African-Americans due to higher prevalence of nonstroke cerebrovascular disease or other metabolic or vascular factors that contribute to cognitive impairment.

Detailed analysis of the Japanese version of the Rapid Dementia Screening Test using Arabic-hiragana conversion.

AIM: The number-transcoding task on the Japanese version of the Rapid Dementia Screening Test (RDST-J) requires conversion between Arabic and Chinese numerals (209 to , 4054 to , to 681, to 2027). In this task, questions and answers are written for Chinese-Arabic conversion. We reported that the RDST-J could distinguish subjects with Alzheimer's disease with a Clinical Dementia Rating Scale score of 0.5 from controls. In this study, we investigated the impact of changing the task to a hiragana-Arabic conversion. METHODS: Participants consisted of 45 patients with a Clinical Dementia Rating Scale score of 0.5 and 52 normal controls. RESULTS: The sensitivity and specificity of total scores ≥9 on the two RDST-J versions for discriminating subjects with a Clinical Dementia Rating Scale score of 0.5 from controls were 73.1% and 75.5%, respectively, on the original version, and 71.8% and 73.0%, respectively, on the revised version. CONCLUSIONS: The sensitivity and specificity of the revised version of the RDST-J was equivalent to those of the original version.

Relationships between cerebral structure and cognitive function in African Americans with type 2 diabetes.

BACKGROUND: Relationships between cognitive function and brain structure remain poorly defined in African Americans with type 2 diabetes. METHODS: Cognitive testing and cerebral magnetic resonance imaging in African Americans from the Diabetes Heart Study Memory IN Diabetes (n = 480) and Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes MIND (n = 104) studies were examined for associations. Cerebral gray matter volume (GMV), white matter volume (WMV) and white matter lesion volume (WMLV) and cognitive performance (Mini-mental State Exam [MMSE and 3MSE], Digit Symbol Coding (DSC), Stroop test, and Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test) were recorded. Multivariable models adjusted for age, sex, BMI, scanner, intracranial volume, education, diabetes duration, HbA1c, LDL-cholesterol, smoking, hypertension and cardiovascular disease assessed associations between cognitive tests and brain volumes by study and meta-analysis. RESULTS: Mean(SD) participant age was 60.1(7.9) years, diabetes duration 12.1(7.7) years, and HbA1c 8.3(1.7)%. In the fully-adjusted meta-analysis, lower GMV associated with poorer global performance on MMSE/3MSE (ß̂ = 7.1 × 10-3, SE 2.4 × 10-3, p = 3.6 × 10-3), higher WMLV associated with poorer performance on DSC (ß̂ = -3 × 10-2, SE 6.4 × 10-3, p = 5.2 × 10-5) and higher WMV associated with poorer MMSE/3MSE performance (ß̂ = -7.1 × 10-3, SE = 2.4 × 10-3, p = 3.6 × 10-3). CONCLUSIONS: In African Americans with diabetes, smaller GMV and increased WMLV associated with poorer performance on tests of global cognitive and executive function. These data suggest that WML burden and gray matter atrophy associate with cognitive performance independent of diabetes-related factors in this population.

Hemostasis biomarkers and incident cognitive impairment: the REGARDS study.

Essentials Cognitive disorders are increasing and vascular risk factors play a role in this. We performed a nested case control study of hemostasis biomarkers and cognitive impairment (CI). Higher baseline fibrinogen, factor VIII and D-dimer were related to incident CI over 3.5 years. Adjusted for other risk factors, 2+ abnormal markers (but not single ones) led to higher risk. SUMMARY: Background Vascular risk factors are associated with cognitive impairment, a condition that imposes a substantial public health burden. We hypothesized that hemostasis biomarkers related to vascular disease would be associated with the risk of incident cognitive impairment. Methods We performed a nested case-control study including 1082 participants with 3.5 years of follow-up in the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study, a longitudinal cohort study of 30 239 black and white Americans aged ≥ 45 years. Participants were free of stroke or cognitive impairment at baseline. Baseline D-dimer, fibrinogen, factor VIII and protein C levels were measured in 495 cases who developed cognitive impairment during follow-up (based on abnormal scores on two or more of three cognitive tests) and 587 controls. Results Unadjusted odds ratios (ORs) for incident cognitive impairment were 1.32 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.02-1.70) for D-dimer > 0.50 µg mL-1 , 1.83 (95% CI 1.24-2.71) for fibrinogen > 90th percentile, 1.63 (95% CI 1.11-2.38) for FVIII > 90th percentile, and 1.10 (95% CI 0.73-1.65) for protein C < 10th percentile. There were no differences in associations by race or region. Adjustment for demographic, vascular and health behavior risk factors attenuated these associations. However, having at least two elevated biomarkers was associated with incident cognitive impairment, with an adjusted OR of 1.73 (95% CI 1.10-2.69). Conclusion Elevated D-dimer, fibrinogen and FVIII levels were not associated with the occurrence of cognitive impairment after multivariable adjustment; however, having at least two abnormal biomarkers was associated with the occurrence of cognitive impairment, suggesting that the burden of these biomarkers is relevant.

Metabolic Syndrome and Neurocognition Among Diverse Middle-Aged and Older Hispanics/Latinos: HCHS/SOL Results.

OBJECTIVE: Hispanics/Latinos have the highest risks for metabolic syndrome (MetS) in the U.S. and are also at increased risk for Alzheimer disease. In this study, we examined associations among neurocognitive function, MetS, and inflammation among diverse middle-aged and older Hispanics/Latinos. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Cross-sectional data (2008-2011) from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL) were analyzed to examine associations between neurocognition and MetS among diverse Hispanics/Latinos (N = 9,136; aged 45-74 years). RESULTS: MetS status was associated with lower global neurocognition, mental status, verbal learning and memory, verbal fluency, and executive function. Age significantly modified the associations between MetS and learning and memory measures. Significant associations between MetS and neurocognition were observed among middle-aged Hispanics/Latinos, and all associations remained robust to additional covariates adjustment. CONCLUSIONS: We found that MetS was associated with lower neurocognitive function, particularly in midlife. Our findings support and extend current hypotheses that midlife may be a particularly vulnerable developmental period for unhealthy neurocognitive aging.

Relationship of Lipids and Lipid-Lowering Medications With Cognitive Function: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.

Studies on the relationship of cholesterol concentrations and lipid-lowering medications with dementia risk have yielded inconsistent findings. Therefore, we investigated the association of lipid concentrations and lipid-lowering medications with cognitive function in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis across 3 different cognitive domains assessed by means of the Cognitive Abilities Screening Instrument (CASI; version 2), the Digit Symbol Coding (DSC) Test, and the Digit Span (DS) Test in 2010-2012. After adjustment for sociodemographic and confounding factors, including concentrations of other lipids and use of lipid-lowering medication, higher total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and non-high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations were modestly associated with higher DS Test scores. None of the lipid parameters were associated with CASI or DSC Test scores. Similarly, changes in lipid concentrations were not associated with any cognitive function test score. Using treatment effects model analysis and after adjusting for confounding factors, including lipid concentrations, the use of any lipid-lowering medication, especially statins, was associated with higher scores on the CASI and backward DS tests but not on the DSC and forward DS tests. Our study does not support a robust association between lipid concentrations and cognitive function or between the use of lipid-lowering medication, especially statins, and worse cognitive function.