BLOOD PRESSURE AND COGNITIVE FUNCTION IN OLDER ADULTS WITH CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE

JOHN GUNSTAD; THERESE ANNE KEARY; MARY BETH SPITZNAGEL; ATHENA POPPAS; ROBERT H PAUL; LAWRENCE H SWEET; KARIN F HOTH; ANDREANA P HALEY; DANIEL E FORMAN; RONALD A COHEN

doi:10.3109/00207450903139713

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BLOOD PRESSURE AND COGNITIVE FUNCTION IN OLDER ADULTS WITH CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE

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BLOOD PRESSURE AND COGNITIVE FUNCTION IN OLDER ADULTS WITH CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE

JOHN GUNSTAD, THERESE ANNE KEARY, MARY BETH SPITZNAGEL, ATHENA POPPAS, ROBERT H PAUL, LAWRENCE H SWEET, KARIN F HOTH, ANDREANA P HALEY, DANIEL E FORMAN and RONALD A COHEN

International journal of neuroscience, Vol.119(12), pp.2228-2242

10/19/2009

DOI: 10.3109/00207450903139713

PMCID: PMC2899480

PMID: 19916851

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Abstract

Background: Past studies link elevated blood pressure (BP) and BP variability to adverse neurocognitive changes in community samples. However, little is known about the relationship between BP indices and cognitive function in older CVD patients. Methods: A total of 99 older adults with CVD completed a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery. Resting BP measurements were collected every 10 min for 2 hr during a separate cardiac assessment. Five BP indices were generated: average and standard deviation of systolic blood pressure (SBP), average and standard deviation of diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and a function of systolic variability and average diastolic pressure. We examined the relationship between these BP indices and cognitive function. Results: Partial correlation adjusting for age and education revealed that the function of systolic variability and average diastolic pressure (SBP standard deviation divided by the average DBP) was most closely related to test performance, showing significant associations to both Learning/Memory (r = 0.25) and Language functioning (r = 0.22). SBP indices were also related to Language functioning (SBP avg., r = 0.22; SBP SD, r = 0.25), though DBP indices were unrelated to performance in any cognitive domain. Conclusions: The current findings indicate that BP is modestly related to cognitive function in older CVD patients. Contrary to expectations, greater BP variability was associated with better, not poorer, cognitive test performance. Such findings suggest that the relationship between BP and cognitive function is more complicated than typically believed and requires further examination.

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Title: Subtitle: BLOOD PRESSURE AND COGNITIVE FUNCTION IN OLDER ADULTS WITH CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE
Creators: JOHN GUNSTAD - Department of Psychology, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, USA
THERESE ANNE KEARY - Department of Psychology, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, USA
MARY BETH SPITZNAGEL
ATHENA POPPAS - Department of Cardiology, Rhode Island Medical Center, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
ROBERT H PAUL - Department of Psychology, University of Missouri, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
LAWRENCE H SWEET - Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown Medical School, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
KARIN F HOTH - National Jewish Health and University of Colorado Denver, Denver, Colorado, USA
ANDREANA P HALEY - Department of Psychology, University of Texas, Austin, Texas, USA
DANIEL E FORMAN
RONALD A COHEN - Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown Medical School, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: International journal of neuroscience, Vol.119(12), pp.2228-2242
DOI: 10.3109/00207450903139713
PMID: 19916851
PMCID: PMC2899480
NLM abbreviation: Int J Neurosci
ISSN: 0020-7454
eISSN: 1563-5279
Publisher: Informa UK Ltd
Language: English
Date published: 10/19/2009
Academic Unit: Psychiatry; Iowa Neuroscience Institute
Record Identifier: 9984003980102771

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