Effects of Vascular Risk Factors on Advancing Age Associated Cognitive Decline: A Longitudinal Study in a Community Dwelling Older Population

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the association between cognitive decline and advancing age, and the potential effects of vascular risk factors on the associations. METHOD: 1134 old persons aged 65 or over was assessed by the Korean version of Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE-K) in 1999, and after two years 686 (61%) of the total subjects were reassessed with MMSE-K. Data on age and vascular risk factors (hypertension and diabetes) was obtained. RESULTS: Cognitive decline was significantly associated with advancing age. The stratified analyses showed that the association of cognitive decline with advancing age was significant for those with vascular risk factors, but not significant for the subjects without vascular risk factors. CONCLUSION: We suggest that the cognitive decline with advancing age might be delayed by appropriate management for the vascular risk factors.