People with poor cardiovascular health have a higher incidence of cognitive decline, according to new research. Improved cardiovascular health is more common in men and people with higher education and higher income, while the incidences of mental disability is most commonly detected in people with lower incomes, living in the “stroke belt” or have cardiovascular disease.
The risk of developing cognitive impairment, especially learning and memory is significantly higher for those with cardiovascular health problems than individuals with intermediate or ideal cardiovascular health, according to this new study, published in the “Journal of the American Heart Association.”
Cardiovascular health plays a critical role in brain shape; with several cardiovascular risk factors also play a role in increased susceptibility to cognitive impairment. Researchers found that people with lower cardiovascular scores were more likely to further deterioration in learning, memory and verbal fluency tests than their counterparts with intermediate or good risk profiles.
The study involved 17,761 people aged 45 and older who had normal cognitive function and no history of stroke and those who were assessed mental function four years later. Scientists used data from the “Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) Study” that determined the status of cardiovascular health based on a scoring system of the American Heart Association.
The “Life’s Simple 7” is a new system of the American Heart Association to measure the benefits of the modifiable health behaviour of health risk factors in cardiovascular health, such as smoking, diet, physical activity, body mass index, blood pressure , total cholesterol, and fasting glucose.
After taking into account the differences in age, sex, race and education, the researchers identified a cognitive impairment in 4.6 percent of people with the worst cardiovascular health ratings; 2.7 percent of participants with intermediate health profiles; and 2.6 percent of those in the category of better cardiovascular health.
“Even when no ideal cardiovascular health is accomplished, intermediate levels of cardiovascular health are preferable for better low cognitive function,” says lead researcher Evan L. Thacker, assistant professor and chronic disease epidemiologist in the Department of Science Health of “Brigham Young University” in Provo, Utah, United States. “This is an encouraging message that the intermediate cardiovascular health is a more realistic goal for many people than the perfect cardiovascular health,” he adds.
Differences were observed regardless of race, gender, pre-existing cardiovascular disease or geographic area, although greater cardiovascular health scores were more common in men, people with higher education, higher income and without cardiovascular disease.
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