Relation between vascular risk factors and cognition at age 75

Objective: Recent trends in dementia research emphasize that not only cerebrovascular events but also vascular risk factors induce, favour or cause cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease. Material and methods: We evaluated vascular risk factors (blood pressure, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, HbA1c, homocysteine, lipoprotein(a), fibrinogen, C-reactive protein and smoking habits) in a community-based cohort of 75-year-old individuals of two districts in Vienna (247 men, 359 women) and correlated these risk factors with overall cognition. Results: Pathological vascular risk factors were found frequently in the age cohort. However, the expected associations between the Mini-Mental State Examination and any cardiovascular risk factors were missing. Only individuals with a positive history of smoking showed lower cognitive capacities. Conclusions: We assume that cognitive dysfunction in old age is connected to factors other than the known classical and novel risk factors for the development of cardiovascular disease.