Gatto NM, Henderson VW, St John JA, McCleary C, Hodis HN, Mack WJ. Metabolic syndrome and cognitive function in healthy middle-aged and older adults without diabetes.
AGING NEUROPSYCHOLOGY AND COGNITION 2008;
15:627-41. [PMID:
18608045 DOI:
10.1080/13825580802036936]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE
Few studies have addressed whether the metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its individual components are associated with cognitive function in middle-aged and older populations, as well as whether specific areas of cognition are more affected than others. We examined the cross-sectional association between MetS and six areas of cognitive function in healthy cognitively intact adults without diabetes (n = 853, mean age 61 years) randomized in two intervention trials.
METHODS
The National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) criteria were used to identify subjects with MetS. Cognitive function was assessed with a neuropsychological battery. A principal components analysis was used to extract five uncorrelated factors interpreted to represent five areas of cognition, and a measure of global cognition was calculated.
RESULTS
MetS was weakly but non-significantly associated with lower verbal learning (beta = -.14 [SE(beta) = 0.09], p = .15). As the number of MetS criteria increased, scores on global cognition (p trend = .01), verbal learning (p trend = .06) and semantic memory (p trend = .04) decreased. Hypertension was the only MetS risk factor that was independently correlated with lower verbal learning (beta = -.17 [SE(beta) = 0.08], p = .04), semantic memory (beta = -.26 [SE(beta) = 0.08], p = .001) and global cognition (beta = -.15 [SE(beta) = 0.07], p = .04).
CONCLUSION
This study adds to the evidence of an association between MetS and lower cognitive function among healthy middle-aged and older adults without CVD and diabetes, as well as confirms the correlation between hypertension and lower cognition.
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