Arterial stiffness relates to executive dysfunction in later life

ABSTRACT

Cardiovascular disease in older people is often linked with cognitive impairment, particularly in domains of executive function and processing speed. Our aims examined whether carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV) related to subtle changes of executive function and processing speed. Fifty-six individuals with subjective mood and/or cognitive concerns underwent PWV and neuropsychological assessments of processing speed (Trail Making Test Part A) and executive functioning (Delis Kaplan Executive Function System Stroop Task; Trail Making Test Part B, TMT-B). Individuals with high PWV (≥12.0m/s) had poorer performance on TMT-B, compared to low PWV (<12.0m/s), and a moderate negative correlation (r = −0.38, p = .004) between PWV and TMT-B performance. Our results confirm that in older adults at-risk for cognitive decline, early markers of CVD are associated with subtle decrements in rapid set-shifting (executive function), supporting efforts towards early detection of CVD as a secondary prevention strategy for older individuals with cognitive decline.

KEYWORDS:

• Arterial stiffness
• carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity
• executive dysfunction
• older adults
• processing speed

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the author, Miss Kahala Dixon, E: [email protected]. The data are not publicly available due to the data file containing information that could compromise the privacy of research participants.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.