@article {1118, title = {Depressed mood is not a risk factor for incident dementia in a community-based cohort.}, journal = {Am J Geriatr Psychiatry}, volume = {17}, year = {2009}, month = {2009 Aug}, pages = {653-63}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVES: To determine the relationship between depressed mood and the development of Alzheimer disease in cognitively normal individuals.

DESIGN: Longitudinal and observational.

SETTING: Community-based cohort study.

PARTICIPANTS: A total of 288 participants in the Cardiovascular Health Study-Cognition Study (mean age: 77.52, SD =3.65, range: 70-89). All of the participants were adjudicated as cognitively normal in 1998/1999, and all had at least three visits before 1998/1999 with measures of cognition and mood state. The mean length of follow-up from 1998-1999 to 2007 was 7.1 years (range: 1-9 years, median =9 years).

MEASUREMENTS: The Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (CESD) was used to index mood state, and the Modified Mini-Mental State Examination (3MSE) was the index of cognitive function among participants before 1998/1999. These measures were considered in two ways: participants were classified according to: 1) whether they showed a high-negative correlation between their CESD and 3MSE scores (i.e., indicating that greater depression was linked to poorer cognition) and 2) whether they showed persistently elevated CESD scores. The study outcome, development of dementia (N = 48), was based on consensus classifications, which was based on detailed neuropsychological and neurological exams.

RESULTS: The authors could find no consistent relationship between mood state, either alone or in relation to cognitive status, and the subsequent development of dementia. Those individuals whose cognitive functions were highly correlated with their mood state were no more likely to develop dementia than other participants. Those who had persistently depressed mood were also no more likely to develop dementia than those without persistently depressed mood.

CONCLUSION: Within the confines of this prospective, community-based study of elderly adults, the authors could not find strong evidence to support the hypothesis that mood disturbance was linked with the development of dementia.

}, keywords = {Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Alzheimer Disease, Cognition Disorders, Dementia, Depression, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Humans, Incidence, Longitudinal Studies, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Mental Status Schedule, Prospective Studies, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Residence Characteristics, Risk Factors}, issn = {1545-7214}, author = {Becker, James T and Chang, Yue-Fang and Lopez, Oscar L and Dew, Mary Amanda and Sweet, Robert A and Barnes, Deborah and Yaffe, Kristine and Young, Jeffrey and Kuller, Lewis and Reynolds, Charles F} } @article {1557, title = {Incidence of mild cognitive impairment in the Pittsburgh Cardiovascular Health Study-Cognition Study.}, journal = {Neurology}, volume = {79}, year = {2012}, month = {2012 Oct 09}, pages = {1599-606}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVES AND METHODS: The purpose of this study was to examine the incidence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and patterns of progression from incident MCI to dementia in 285 cognitively normal subjects (mean age, 78.9 years) in the Cardiovascular Health Study-Cognition Study from 1998-1999 to 2010-2011.

RESULTS: Two hundred (70\%) of the participants progressed to MCI; the age-adjusted incidence of MCI was 111.09 (95\% confidence interval, 88.13-142.95) per 1,000 person-years. A total of 107 (53.5\%) of the incident MCI subjects progressed to dementia. The mean time from MCI to dementia was 2.8 {\textpm} 1.8 years. Forty (20\%) of the incident MCI cases had an "unstable" course: 19 (9.5\%) converted to MCI and later returned to normal; 10 (5\%) converted to MCI, to normal, and later back to MCI; 7 (3.5\%) converted to MCI, to normal, to MCI, and later to dementia; and 4 (2\%) converted to MCI, to normal, and later to dementia. There was an increased mortality rate among the cognitively normal group (110.10 per 1,000 person-years) compared to those with incident MCI who converted to dementia (41.32 per 1,000 person-years).

CONCLUSIONS: The majority of the subjects aged >80 years developed an MCI syndrome, and half of them progressed to dementia. Once the MCI syndrome was present, the symptoms of dementia appeared within 2 to 3 years. Progression from normal to MCI or from normal to MCI to dementia is not always linear; subjects who developed MCI and later returned to normal can subsequently progress to dementia. Competing mortality and morbidity influence the study of incident MCI and dementia in population cohorts.

}, keywords = {Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Cognitive Dysfunction, Dementia, Disease Progression, Female, Health Surveys, Humans, Incidence, Male, Risk Factors, Severity of Illness Index}, issn = {1526-632X}, doi = {10.1212/WNL.0b013e31826e25f0}, author = {Lopez, Oscar L and Becker, James T and Chang, Yue-Fang and Sweet, Robert A and DeKosky, Steven T and Gach, Michael H and Carmichael, Owen T and McDade, Eric and Kuller, Lewis H} } @article {6107, title = {Long-term survival in adults 65 years and older with white matter hyperintensity: association with performance on the digit symbol substitution test.}, journal = {Psychosom Med}, volume = {75}, year = {2013}, month = {2013 Sep}, pages = {624-31}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVE: White matter hyperintensity (WMH) confers increased mortality risk in patients with cardiovascular diseases. However, little is known about differences in survival times among adults 65 years and older who have WMH and live in the community. To characterize the factors that may reduce mortality risk in the presence of WMH, measures of race, sex, apolipoprotein E4, neuroimaging, and cardiometabolic, physiological, and psychosocial characteristics were examined, with a particular focus on information processing as measured by the Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST).

METHODS: Cox proportional models were used to estimate mortality risks in a cohort of 3513 adults (74.8 years, 58\% women, 84\% white) with WMH (0-9 points), DSST (0-90 points), risk factor assessment in 1992 to 1994, and data on mortality and incident stroke in 2009 (median follow-up [range] = 14.2 [0.5-18.1] years).

RESULTS: WMH predicted a 48\% greater mortality risk (age-adjusted hazard ratio [HR; 95\% confidence interval {CI}] for WMH >3 points = 1.48 [1.35-1.62]). This association was attenuated after adjustment for DSST (HR [CI] = 1.38 [1.27-1.51]) or lacunar infarcts (HR [CI] = 1.37 [1.25,1.50]) but not after adjustment for other factors. The interaction between DSST and WMH was significant (p = .011). In fully adjusted models stratified by WMH of 3 or higher, participants with DSST greater than or equal to median had a 34\% lower mortality risk among those with WMH of 3 or higher (n = 532/1217) and a 28\% lower mortality risk among those with WMH lower than 3 (n = 1364/2296), compared with participants with DSST less than median (HR [95\% CI] = 0.66 [0.55-0.81] and 0.72 [0.62-0.83], respectively).

CONCLUSIONS: WMH is associated with increased long-term mortality risk in community-dwelling adults 65 years and older. The increased risk is attenuated for those with higher DSST. Assessment of cognitive function with DSST may improve risk stratification of individuals with WMH.

}, keywords = {Aged, Apolipoprotein E4, Biomarkers, Brain, Cardiovascular Diseases, Epidemiologic Methods, Female, Humans, Life Style, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Neuroimaging, Neuropsychological Tests, Reaction Time, Sex Factors, Stroke, Survivors}, issn = {1534-7796}, doi = {10.1097/PSY.0b013e31829c1df2}, author = {Rosano, Caterina and Chang, Yue-Fang and Kuller, Lewis H and Guralnik, Jack M and Studenski, Stephanie A and Aizenstein, Howard J and Gianaros, Peter J and Lopez, Oscar L and Longstreth, William T and Newman, Anne B} } @article {8406, title = {Long-term cognitive decline and mortality after carotid endarterectomy.}, journal = {Clin Neurol Neurosurg}, volume = {194}, year = {2020}, month = {2020 Jul}, pages = {105823}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVES: To date no studies have evaluated long term cognitive decline after carotid endarterectomy (CEA). We evaluated whether participants who had CEA were at increased risk of cognitive decline over participants who didn{\textquoteright}t undergo CEA.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: The patients in the study were participants in the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS), a study of 5201 men and women over the age of 65 who were recruited from four communities (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Sacramento, California; Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Hagerstown, Maryland) in 1988-89. The outcomes measured were 1) Decline in 3MSE and digit symbol substitution test (DSST) scores after CEA compared to before CEA. 2) All-cause mortality in CHS cohort among participants who did and did not have CEA.

RESULTS: CEA patients had significantly greater annual decrease in the DSST scores -2.43 (SD 4.21) compared to those who did not have a CEA -1.1 (SD 2.57) (p < 0.001) but this was not seen in the 3MSE scores. CEA patients had increased the risk of decline in DSST (OR 2.41, 95 \% CI 1.49, 3.88) and 3MSE (OR 2.17, 95 \% CI 1.35, 3.48) scores after adjusting for age, gender, race and educational status. CEA was associated with all-cause mortality in the long term with a HR of 2.72 (95 \% CI 2.22, 3.34) after adjusting for covariates. Participants with lower baseline 3MSE scores HR 1.39 (1.27, 1.51), lower DSST scores <34 HR 1.69(1.54, 1.85) were more likely deceased.

CONCLUSIONS: CEA patients are at increased risk of lower scores on 3MSE and DSST testing in the long term. Mortality in the CHS cohort was higher in participants who underwent CEA. Further, lower 3MSE and DSST scores increased the risk of mortality.

}, issn = {1872-6968}, doi = {10.1016/j.clineuro.2020.105823}, author = {Thirumala, Parthasarathy D and Reddy, Rajiv P and Lopez, Oscar L and Chang, Yue-Fang and Becker, James T and Kuller, Lewis H} }