Journal
NEUROLOGY
Volume 86, Issue 12, Pages 1120-1127Publisher
LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS
DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000002499
Keywords
-
Categories
Funding
- Bristol-Myers Squibb, USA
- Internationale Stichting Alzheimer Onderzoek (ISAO)
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Objective: To investigate the cross-sectional and longitudinal associations of 10-second heart rate variability (HRV) with various domains of cognitive function in older participants at risk of cardiovascular disease. Methods: We studied 3,583 participants, mean age of 75.0 years, who were enrolled in the Prospective Study of Pravastatin in the Elderly at Risk. From baseline 10-second ECGs, standard deviation of normal-to-normal intervals was calculated as the index of HRV. Four cognitive domains were assessed at baseline and repeated during a mean follow-up period of 3.2 years. Results: Lower HRV at baseline was associated with worse performance in reaction time (mean difference between low third vs high third of HRV = 1.96 seconds, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.20 to 3.71) and processing speed (-0.57 digits coded, 95% CI -1.09 to -0.05). During follow-up, participants with lower HRV had a steeper decline in processing speed (mean annual change between low third vs high third of HRV = -0.16 digits coded, 95% CI -0.28 to -0.04). There was no difference in annual changes of reaction time or immediate and delayed memory among HRV thirds during follow-up. All these associations remained unchanged after adjustment for medications, cardiovascular risk factors, and comorbidities. Conclusions: Participants with lower 10-second HRV have worse performance in reaction time and processing speed and experience steeper decline in their processing speed, independent of medications, cardiovascular risk factors, and comorbidities.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available