Associations between circulating cardiovascular disease risk factors and cognitive performance in cognitively healthy older adults from the NuAge study

Noah D Koblinsky; Pierre-Hugues Carmichael; Sylvie Belleville; Alexandra J Fiocco; Pierrette Gaudreau; Carol E Greenwood; Marie-Jeanne Kergoat; José A Morais; Nancy Presse; Danielle Laurin; Guylaine Ferland

doi:10.3389/fnagi.2023.1274794

Associations between circulating cardiovascular disease risk factors and cognitive performance in cognitively healthy older adults from the NuAge study

Front Aging Neurosci. 2023 Nov 10:15:1274794. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2023.1274794. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Health Sciences, Toronto, ON, Canada.
² Center d'excellence sur le Vieillissement de Québec, Center de Recherche du Center Hospitalier Universitaire (CHU) de Québec-Université Laval and VITAM-Center de Recherche en Santé Durable, Center Intégré Universitaire de Santé et de Services Sociaux (CIUSSS) de la Capitale Nationale, Québec, QC, Canada.
³ Center de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal, CIUSSS du Center-Sud-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada.
⁴ Department of Psychology, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁵ Center de Recherche du Center Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal and Faculté de Médecine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada.
⁶ Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁷ Département de Médecine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada.
⁸ Division of Geriatrics, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
⁹ Faculté de Médecine et des Sciences de la Santé de l'Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada.
¹⁰ Center de Recherche sur le Vieillissement du CIUSSS de l'Estrie-Center Hospitalier Universitaire de Sherbrooke (CHUS), Sherbrooke, QC, Canada.
¹¹ Faculté de Pharmacie, Institut sur le Vieillissement et la Participation Sociale des Aînés and Institut sur la Nutrition et les Aliments Fonctionnels (INAF), Université Laval, Montreal, ON, Canada.
¹² Montreal Heart Institute Research Center, and Département de Nutrition, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada.

Abstract

Introduction: Cardiovascular disease risk factors (CVRFs) contribute to the development of cognitive impairment and dementia.

Methods: This study examined the associations between circulating CVRF biomarkers and cognition in 386 cognitively healthy older adults (mean age = 78 ± 4 years, 53% females) selected from the Quebec Longitudinal Study on Nutrition and Successful Aging (NuAge). Memory, executive function, and processing speed were assessed at baseline and 2-year follow-up. CVRF biomarkers included total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), triglycerides, glucose, insulin, high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), homocysteine, protein carbonyls, and cortisol. Linear mixed models were used to determine associations between individual CVRF biomarkers and cognition at both time points.

Results: HDL-C was most consistently associated with cognition with higher values related to better performance across several domains. Overall, stronger and more consistent relationships between CVRF biomarkers and cognition were observed in females relative to males.

Discussion: Findings suggest that increases in the majority of circulating CVRFs are not associated with worse cognition in cognitively healthy older adults.

Keywords: HDL; cardiovascular risk factors; cognition; cognitively healthy; older adults.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. The NuAge Study and the NutCog Study were originally supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR; MOP-62842 and MOP-82825, respectively). Funding was also provided by the Quebec Research Network on Aging (QRNA), which is supported by the Fonds de recherche du Québec—Santé (FRQS). The NuAge Database and Biobank are supported by the FRQS (2020-VICO-279753), the QRNA, and the Merck-Frosst Chair funded by La Fondation de l’Université de Sherbrooke. Financial support was also provided the Diet and Prevention team of the Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging, which is supported by CIHR and several partners (CNA-417847-CNA-ABPI-32054).