title: Subclinical atherosclerosis and subsequent cognitive function.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the relationship between measures of subclinical atherosclerosis and subsequent cognitive function.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants from the Dallas Heart Study (DHS), a population-based multiethnic study of cardiovascular disease pathogenesis, were re-examined 8 years later (DHS-2) with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA); N = 1904, mean age = 42.9, range 8-65. Associations of baseline measures of subclinical atherosclerosis (coronary artery calcium, abdominal aortic plaque, and abdominal aortic wall thickness) with MoCA scores measured at follow-up were examined in the group as a whole and in relation to age and ApoE4 status.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A significant linear trend of successively lower MoCA scores with increasing numbers of atherosclerotic indicators was observed (F(3, 1150) = 5.918, p = .001). CAC was weakly correlated with MoCA scores (p = .047) and MoCA scores were significantly different between participants with and without CAC (M = 22.35 vs 23.69, p = 0.038). With the exception of a small association between abdominal AWT and MoCA in subjects over age 50, abdominal AWT and abdominal aortic plaque did not correlate with MoCA total score (p ≥ .052). Cognitive scores and atherosclerosis measures were not impacted by ApoE4 status (p ≥ .455).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this ethnically diverse population-based sample, subclinical atherosclerosis was minimally associated with later cognitive function in middle-aged adults.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, UT Southwestern Medical Center, USA. Electronic address: heidi.rossetti@utsouthwestern.edu.
authors.forename: Heidi C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Rossetti
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, UT Southwestern Medical Center, USA.
authors.forename: Myron
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Weiner
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, UT Southwestern Medical Center, USA; Department of Clinical Science, UT Southwestern Medical Center, USA.
authors.forename: Linda S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Hynan
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, UT Southwestern Medical Center, USA; Department of Neurology and Neurotherapeutics, UT Southwestern Medical Center, USA.
authors.forename: C Munro
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Cullum
authors.affiliation: Internal Medicine, UT Southwestern Medical Center, USA.
authors.forename: Amit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Khera
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, UT Southwestern Medical Center, USA; Department of Neurology and Neurotherapeutics, UT Southwestern Medical Center, USA.
authors.forename: Laura H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Lacritz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001012:Aorta, Abdominal / Q000473:pathology; D001018:Aortic Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology*; D053327:Apolipoprotein E4 / Q000235:genetics; D058070:Asymptomatic Diseases; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology*; D003071:Cognition; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D017023:Coronary Angiography / Q000379:methods; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D058226:Plaque, Atherosclerotic; D011379:Prognosis; D012307:Risk Factors; D013781:Texas / Q000453:epidemiology; D013997:Time Factors; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D053327:Apolipoprotein E4
keywords: Atherosclerosis; Cognition; Dallas heart study; MoCA; Montreal Cognitive Assessment