title: Midlife cardiovascular risk impacts executive function: Framingham offspring study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Novel error scores and traditional indices of executive function (EF) were related to cardiovascular risk factors measured 10 to 15 years earlier.
  
  
  METHODS
  From 1991 to 1995, the Framingham Stroke Risk Profile (FSRP), a composite score of cardiovascular risk, was ascertained in 1755 Framingham Offspring participants (54% women, mean age=54±9 y). Participants were administered EF tests, which included: FAS and Animals Fluency tests, Trail Making Test B (TrB), and Digit Span-Backwards (DS-B), from 2005 to 2009. Linear and logistic regression were used to relate the FSRP and its components to both error responses and traditional scores.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Consistent with previous findings, the FSRP and the individual components, diabetes and sex, were associated with several traditional measures of EF. Of interest were relationships between the FSRP score and TrB Total Errors (P=0.04), DS-B% Total Errors (P=0.02) and DS-B Capacity Score (P=0.03), and prevalent CVD related to making FAS Perseverations in the 75th percentile (P=0.03). By comparison, FSRP and CVD were not related to the traditional DS-B or FAS scores. In addition, age was associated with higher Animals % Total Errors and % Perseverations among ApoE4+ individuals and with higher TrB Total Errors among ApoE4- individuals.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  For those middle-aged and healthy, including those who are ApoE4+, cardiovascular risk factors are related to impairments in EF as ascertained by novel errors and traditional measures.
authors.affiliation: *Framingham Heart Study, Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine †Framingham Heart Study, Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Arvind
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nishtala
authors.forename: Sarah R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Preis
authors.forename: Alexa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Beiser
authors.forename: Sherral
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Devine
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hankee
authors.forename: Sudha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Seshadri
authors.forename: Philip A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Wolf
authors.forename: Rhoda
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Au
mesh_terms: D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000150:complications*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000209:etiology; D056344:Executive Function; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012307:Risk Factors