Vascular Risk Factors and Cognitive Functions in Nondemented Elderly Individuals

Background: The brain-at-risk stage is the earliest phase of the vascular cognitive impairment continuum and includes individuals with vascular risk factors (VRF). However, there is still no clear definition of this concept. The aim of the study is to characterize the neuropsychological profile of e...

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Published in:Journal of geriatric psychiatry and neurology 2009-09, Vol.22 (3), p.196-206
Main Authors: Wiederkehr, Sandra, Laurin, Danielle, Simard, Martine, Verreault, René, Lindsay, Joan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Analysis of Variance
Biological and medical sciences
Cerebrovascular Disorders - epidemiology
Cerebrovascular Disorders - psychology
Cognition
Cognition Disorders - etiology
Cross-Sectional Studies
Degenerative and inherited degenerative diseases of the nervous system. Leukodystrophies. Prion diseases
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Geriatrics
Humans
Medical sciences
Memory
Neurology
Neuropsychological Tests
Principal Component Analysis
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychomotor Performance
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Risk Factors
Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs
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Summary:Background: The brain-at-risk stage is the earliest phase of the vascular cognitive impairment continuum and includes individuals with vascular risk factors (VRF). However, there is still no clear definition of this concept. The aim of the study is to characterize the neuropsychological profile of elderly individuals by 3 levels of VRF. Methods: This is a cross-sectional analysis of the Canadian Study of Health and Aging baseline data; 577 nondemented elderly individuals ≥65 years old were divided into 3 groups: reference group (0 VRF; n = 82); intermediate brain-at-risk group (1-2 VRF; n = 360); high brain-at-risk group (≥3 VRF; n = 135). A principal component analysis (PCA) and univariate/multivariate analyses of variance were performed to examine the relationships between the groups and various cognitive measures. Main findings: The PCA produced a 2-component solution (1) executive/psychomotor functions including measures of abstraction and (2) verbal memory. The high brain-at-risk group performed significantly worse than the reference group on the first component. Conclusions: Elderly individuals presenting with ≥3 VRF are more impaired on measures of executive functions/ processing speed than participants without any VRF.
ISSN:0891-9887
1552-5708
DOI:10.1177/0891988709335797