You are here

Atrial fibrillation and cognitive decline: a longitudinal cohort study.

TitleAtrial fibrillation and cognitive decline: a longitudinal cohort study.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2013
AuthorsThacker, EL, McKnight, B, Psaty, BM, Longstreth, WT, Sitlani, CM, Dublin, S, Arnold, AM, Fitzpatrick, AL, Gottesman, RF, Heckbert, SR
JournalNeurology
Volume81
Issue2
Pagination119-25
Date Published2013 Jul 09
ISSN1526-632X
KeywordsAge Factors, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Atrial Fibrillation, Cognition Disorders, Comorbidity, Female, Humans, Incidence, Longitudinal Studies, Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery, Male, Predictive Value of Tests
Abstract<p><b>OBJECTIVE: </b>We sought to determine whether in the absence of clinical stroke, people with atrial fibrillation experience faster cognitive decline than people without atrial fibrillation.</p><p><b>METHODS: </b>We conducted a longitudinal analysis in the Cardiovascular Health Study, a community-based study of 5,888 men and women aged 65 years and older, enrolled in 1989/1990 or 1992/1993. Participants did not have atrial fibrillation or a history of stroke at baseline. Participants were censored when they experienced incident clinical stroke. Incident atrial fibrillation was identified by hospital discharge diagnosis codes and annual study ECGs. The main outcome was rate of decline in mean scores on the 100-point Modified Mini-Mental State Examination (3MSE), administered annually up to 9 times.</p><p><b>RESULTS: </b>Analyses included 5,150 participants, of whom 552 (10.7%) developed incident atrial fibrillation during a mean of 7 years of follow-up. Mean 3MSE scores declined faster after incident atrial fibrillation compared with no prior atrial fibrillation. For example, the predicted 5-year decline in mean 3MSE score from age 80 to age 85 was -6.4 points (95% confidence interval [CI]: -7.0, -5.9) for participants without a history of atrial fibrillation, but was -10.3 points (95% CI: -11.8, -8.9) for participants experiencing incident atrial fibrillation at age 80, a 5-year difference of -3.9 points (95% CI: -5.3, -2.5).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS: </b>In the absence of clinical stroke, people with incident atrial fibrillation are likely to reach thresholds of cognitive impairment or dementia at earlier ages than people with no history of atrial fibrillation.</p>
DOI10.1212/WNL.0b013e31829a33d1
Alternate JournalNeurology
PubMed ID23739229
PubMed Central IDPMC3770176
Grant ListN01HC55222 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
N01HC85080 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
K23AG028954 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
T32HL007902 / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
N01HC85081 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
N01HC85079 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
N01HC85086 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
HL102214 / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
N01HC85082 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
HHSN268200800007C / / PHS HHS / United States
HHSN268201200036C / / PHS HHS / United States
HL080295 / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
N01HC85083 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
AG023629 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States