Optimal cardiovascular health is associated with slower cognitive decline

Abstract

BackgroundLife's Simple 7, a lifestyle and cardiovascular index associated with cognition, has been updated to Life's Essential 8 (LE8) to include sleep. LE8 has been related to cardiovascular outcomes but its association with cognition is unclear.MethodsIn this longitudinal analysis of the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA‐Brasil), LE8 score was based on health behaviors (diet, physical activity, nicotine exposure, and sleep health) as well as health‐related factors (body mass index, blood lipids, blood glucose, and blood pressure). Cognition was assessed in three waves, 4 years apart, using the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease – Word List, semantic and phonemic verbal fluency, the Trail‐Making Test B (TMT‐B), and a global composite score. We used linear mixed‐model analysis, inverse probability weighting, and interaction analysis.ResultsAt baseline, the mean age of the study cohort was 51.4 ± 8.9 years, 56% were women, and 53% were White. Higher baseline LE8 scores were associated with slower decline in global cognition (β = 0.001, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.001, 0.002; p < 0.001), memory (β = 0.001, 95% CI 0.000, 0.002; p = 0.013), verbal fluency (β = 0.001, 95% CI 0.000, 0.002; p = 0.003), and TMT‐B (β = 0.004, 95% CI 0.003, 0.005; p < 0.001). This association was mainly driven by LE8 health factors, particularly blood glucose and blood pressure. Age, sex, and race were modifiers of the association between LE8 and global cognitive decline (p < 0.001), suggesting it was more pronounced in older, male, and Black participants.ConclusionsHigher baseline LE8 scores were associated with slower global and domain‐specific cognitive decline during 8 years of follow‐up, mainly due to health factors such as blood glucose and blood pressure. Sociodemographic factors were modifiers of this association.

Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Endothelial Progenitor Cells: Unraveling Insights from Vascular Endothelial Cells

“…ECFC mitochondria in AD have not been investigated so far. As mentioned, CVRFs are affecting ECFCs and therefore, lower cardiovascular risk is associated with slower progression, i.e., cognitive decline, in the general population [280]. Due to the fact that CVRFs cause mitochondrial dysfunction in ECFCs, a link between mitochondrial dysfunction in ECFCs and AD, underlining the importance of future research in this field is suggested.…”