Cognitive function, vascular risk factors and education. A cross‐sectional study based on a cohort of 70‐year‐old men

Abstract

Objectives.A low level of education is associated with an increased risk of developing a dementia disorder, as well as with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between education and cardiovascular risk factors, and to study the relation between these factors and cognitive function in elderly men. Design. Cross-sectional population-based study. Setting. Uppsala, Sweden. Subjects. 504 men aged 69-74 years, participants in a longitudinal health survey concerning cardiovascular risk factors. Main outcome measure. Cognitive function as measured by a composite score of 13 standard psychometric tests. Results.A low level of education was associated with poorer cognitive performance, as well as with obesity, smoking, diabetes, high concentrations of serum triglycerides and plasma fibrinogen. In the entire cohort, subjects with obesity, smoking, diabetes or hypertriglyceridaemia showed impaired cognitive test results, independent of socio-economic factors. When stroke cases were excluded, obesity and smoking were still related to impaired cognitive function. Conclusions. Smoking and obesity with associated metabolic disturbances are inversely related both to educational level and to cognitive function. Cognitive decline of vascular origin is potentially preventable by treatment of risk factors. The question of whether the increased vascular risk contributes to the higher prevalence of cognitive disorders in individuals with low socio-economic status, needs to be further evaluated in longitudinal population-based studies.

Lower cognitive function in the presence of obesity and hypertension: the Framingham heart study

“…Moreover, there is evidence that male gender potentiates both cerebraldegenerative and cognitive changes related to hypertension in older adult subjects. 22 Our findings with respect to obesity are consistent with the two studies that have reported adverse effects of obesity on cognitive functioning in males, 11,12 but neither study included women in the samples. Sex differences in sample size do not explain our finding.…”

“…Only two studies have provided some evidence that obesity per se is associated with lowered cognitive functioning in men. 11,12 However, these studies failed to address whether obesity was associated with cognitive performance independently of the effects of diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol levels, and cigarette smoking. Moreover, they did not include controls for cardiovascular diseases and events that may have been correlated with overweight or obesity.…”

Interactive relations of central versus total obesity and blood pressure to cognitive function

“…Two other populationbased studies have noted lower levels of cognitive function in the presence of obesity. 6,7 However, these studies were limited by the presence of major confounding variables.…”

“…4,5 Obesity has been associated with poorer cognitive function in several population-based investigations. [6][7][8] However, two of these studies did not control for major confounding variables such as other cardiovascular risk factors and cardiovascular or metabolic diseases. 6,7 Examining participants from the Framingham Study who were free of stroke, dementia, or diagnosed cardiovascular disease, Elias et al 8 reported that obese men performed significantly more poorly than nonobese men across several tests of memory and executive function after controlling for multiple confounding variables.…”

Diabetes Mellitus and Elevated Copeptin Levels in Middle Age Predict Low Cognitive Speed after Long-Term Follow-Up

“…Hypertension in midlife is a well-established risk factor for dementia [4,5] that has also been connected to cognitive decline [6,7]. Dyslipidaemia [7], insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes [8,9,10] and obesity [11,12] have also been identified as risk factors in this context.…”