title: High Agatston Calcium Score of Intracranial Carotid Artery: A Significant Risk Factor for Cognitive Impairment.
abstract: The effect of intracranial internal carotid artery (ICA) calcification on cognitive impairment is uncertain. Our objective was to investigate whether intracranial ICA calcification is a significant cognitive predictor for cognitive impairment. Global cognition and degrees of intracranial ICA calcification of 579 subjects were assessed with Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Agatston calcium scoring method, respectively. Other risk factors for cognitive impairment, including age, education level, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, smoking, hyperlipidemia, and body mass index, were documented and analyzed for their associations with cognitive function. In univariate analyses, older age, lower education level, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and higher intracranial ICA Agatston scores were significantly associated with cognitive impairment. In ordinal logistic regression, only age and total intracranial ICA Agatston score were significant risk factors for cognitive impairment. After adjustment for the other documented risk factors, subjects were 7% (95% CI: 5-10; P < 0.001) and 6% (95% CI: 0-13; P = 0.04) more likely to have lower cognitive category with every year increment of age and every 100-point increment of the total intracranial ICA Agatston score respectively. These results suggest an important role of the intracranial ICA calcification on cognitive impairment.
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Radiology, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan (H-WK, H-WC, S-WC, G-SH, H-HH, C-YC); Department of Biomedical Imaging and Radiological Sciences, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan (H-WK); Institute of Statistical Science, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan (ML); Department of Electrical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan (H-WC, S-WC); Department of Medical Imaging, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan (H-SL, P-HT, C-YC); Imaging Research Center, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan (H-SL, P-HT, C-YC); Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan (H-SL, P-HT, C-YC); Department of Medical Imaging and Radiological Sciences, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan (M-CC); and Department of Neurology, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan (G-SP).
authors.forename: Hung-Wen
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Kao
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Liou
authors.forename: Hsiao-Wen
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Hua-Shan
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Ping-Huei
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.forename: Shih-Wei
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Chiang
authors.forename: Ming-Chung
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Chou
authors.forename: Giia-Sheun
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.forename: Guo-Shu
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Hsian-He
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.forename: Cheng-Yu
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002114:Calcinosis / Q000150:complications*; D002340:Carotid Artery Diseases / Q000150:complications*; D002343:Carotid Artery, Internal; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index