Cardiovascular risk factors and cognitive decline in adults aged 50 and over: a population-based cohort study

Objectives: the objective of the present study was to explore the association between cardiovascular risk and cognitive decline in adults aged 50 and over. Methods: participants were older adults who participated in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Outcome measures included standardised z-scores for global cognition, memory and executive functioning. Associations between cardiovascular risk factors and 10-year Framingham risk scores with cognitive outcomes at 4-year and 8-year follow-ups were estimated. Results: the mean age of participants (n = 8,780) at 2004–05 survey was 66.93 and 55% were females. Participants in the highest quartile of Framingham stroke risk score (FSR) had lower global cognition (b = −0.73,CI: −1.37, −0.10), memory (b = −0.56, CI: −0.99, −0.12) and executive (b = −0.37, CI: −0.74, −0.01) scores at 4-year follow-up compared with those in the lower quartile. Systolic blood pressure ≥160 mmHg at 1998–2001 survey was associated with lower global cognitive (b = −1.26, CI: −2.52, −0.01) and specific memory (b = −1.16, CI: −1.94, −0.37) scores at 8-year follow-up. Smoking was consistently associated with lower performance on all three cognitive outcomes. Conclusion: elevated cardiovascular risk may be associated with accelerated decline in cognitive functioning in the elderly. Future intervention studies may be better focused on overall risk rather than individual risk factor levels.