title: Cognitive impairment predicts fatal incident stroke: findings from a national sample of older adults.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the effect of cognitive impairment on fatal and nonfatal incident stroke in older adults.
  
  
  METHODS
  A large, national, prospective, population-based study of a representative cohort of older Canadians followed over a 10-year period.
  
  
  METHODS
  Secondary analyses were conducted using data from the Canadian Study of Health and Aging, a population-based study of older adults followed prospectively from 1991 to 2001.
  
  
  METHODS
  Nine thousand four hundred fifty-one adults aged 65 and older who had not previously been diagnosed with stroke at baseline (in 1991).
  
  
  METHODS
  In addition to known risk factors, the independent contribution of cognitive function (diagnosed in a clinical examination) was examined as a risk for stroke in older adults.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Multinomial logistic regression analyses showed that cognitive impairment was associated with twice the odds of fatal incident stroke, controlling for well-established risk factors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study provides further evidence for the need to consider cognitive function in relation to stroke risk in older populations.
authors: Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. pjclarke@umich.edu
authors: Philippa J
authors: PJ
authors: Clarke
authors: Vanessa
authors: V
authors: Blount
authors: Angela
authors: A
authors: Colantonio
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000145:classification; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002170:Canada; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000401:mortality*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015897:Comorbidity; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000401:mortality; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006306:Health Surveys; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000401:mortality; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000401:mortality; D015994:Incidence; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000401:mortality; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012306:Risk; D020521:Stroke / Q000401:mortality*