scholarly journals MODERATE, REGULAR ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION IS ASSOCIATED WITH HIGHER COGNITIVE FUNCTION IN OLDER COMMUNITY-DWELLING ADULTS

Author(s):  
E.T. Reas ◽  
G.A. Laughlin ◽  
D. Kritz-Silverstein ◽  
E. Barrett-Connor ◽  
L.K. McEvoy

Background: Evidence suggests that moderate alcohol consumption may protect against cognitive decline and dementia. However, uncertainty remains over the patterns of drinking that are most beneficial. Objective: To examine associations between amount and frequency of alcohol consumption with multiple domains of cognitive function in a well-characterized cohort of older community-dwelling adults in southern California. Design: Observational, cross-sectional cohort study. Setting: A research visit between 1988-1992 in Rancho Bernardo, California. Participants: 1624 participants of the Rancho Bernardo Study (mean age ± SD = 73.2 ± 9.3 years). Measurements: Participants completed a neuropsychological test battery, self-administered questionnaires on alcohol consumption and lifestyle, and a clinical health evaluation. We classified participants according to average amount of alcohol intake into never, former, moderate, heavy and excessive drinkers, and according to frequency of alcohol intake, into non-drinkers, rare, infrequent, frequent and daily drinkers. We examined the association between alcohol intake and cognitive function, controlling for age, sex, education, exercise, smoking, waist-hip ratio, hypertension and self-assessed health. Results: Amount and frequency of alcohol intake were significantly associated with cognitive function, even after controlling for potentially related health and lifestyle variables. Global and executive function showed positive linear associations with amount and frequency of alcohol intake, whereas visual memory showed an inverted U-shaped association with alcohol intake, with better performance for moderate and infrequent drinkers than for non-drinkers, excessive drinkers or daily drinkers. Conclusions: In several cognitive domains, moderate, regular alcohol intake was associated with better cognitive function relative to not drinking or drinking less frequently. This suggests that beneficial cognitive effects of alcohol intake may be achieved with low levels of drinking that are unlikely to be associated with adverse effects in an aging population.

Author(s):  
Tran Dai Tri Han ◽  
Keiko Nakamura ◽  
Kaoruko Seino ◽  
Vo Nu Hong Duc ◽  
Thang Van Vo

This study examined the prevalence of cognitive impairment among older adults in central Vietnam and the roles of communication (with or without communication devices) in the association between cognitive impairment and hearing loss. This cross-sectional study was performed on 725 randomly selected community-dwelling older adults aged ≥60 years from Thua Thien Hue province, Vietnam. Participants attended a face-to-face survey. Sociodemographic characteristics, social interaction with or without communication devices, health status and cognitive function using the Mini-Mental State Examination were reported. Ordinal logistic regression analysis was performed to quantify the association between hearing loss and cognitive function by frequency of communication with and without devices. Mild and severe cognitive impairment had prevalence rates of 23.6% and 19.3%, respectively. Cognitive impairment was more prevalent among older adults with hearing-loss, vision loss and difficulties with instrumental activities of daily living (IADL). The association between hearing loss and cognitive impairment was not significant when older adults had frequent communication with others using devices. This study presented the relatively high prevalence of cognitive impairment in community-dwelling older adults in Vietnam. Frequent communication using devices attenuated the association between hearing loss and cognitive impairment.


2021 ◽  
Vol 80 (2) ◽  
pp. 567-576
Author(s):  
Fei Han ◽  
Fei-Fei Zhai ◽  
Ming-Li Li ◽  
Li-Xin Zhou ◽  
Jun Ni ◽  
...  

Background: Mechanisms through which arterial stiffness impacts cognitive function are crucial for devising better strategies to prevent cognitive decline. Objective: To examine the associations of arterial stiffness with white matter integrity and cognition in community dwellings, and to investigate whether white matter injury was the intermediate of the associations between arterial stiffness and cognition. Methods: This study was a cross-sectional analysis on 952 subjects (aged 55.5±9.1 years) who underwent diffusion tensor imaging and measurement of brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV). Both linear regression and tract-based spatial statistics were used to investigate the association between baPWV and white matter integrity. The association between baPWV and global cognitive function, measured as the mini-mental state examination (MMSE) was evaluated. Mediation analysis was performed to assess the influence of white matter integrity on the association of baPWV with MMSE. Results: Increased baPWV was significantly associated with lower mean global fractional anisotropy (β= –0.118, p < 0.001), higher mean diffusivity (β= 0.161, p < 0.001), axial diffusivity (β= 0.160, p < 0.001), and radial diffusivity (β= 0.147, p < 0.001) after adjustment of age, sex, and hypertension, which were measures having a direct effect on arterial stiffness and white matter integrity. After adjustment of age, sex, education, apolipoprotein E ɛ4, cardiovascular risk factors, and brain atrophy, we found an association of increased baPWV with worse performance on MMSE (β= –0.093, p = 0.011). White matter disruption partially mediated the effect of baPWV on MMSE. Conclusion: Arterial stiffness is associated with white matter disruption and cognitive decline. Reduced white matter integrity partially explained the effect of arterial stiffness on cognition.


1994 ◽  
Vol 40 (11) ◽  
pp. 2057-2063 ◽  
Author(s):  
B Fagerberg ◽  
S Agewall ◽  
A Berglund ◽  
M Wysocki ◽  
P A Lundberg ◽  
...  

Abstract The aim of this study was to examine the diagnostic usefulness of carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) in serum in a cross-sectional study of 439 treated hypertensive men. We related the results to alcohol intake by questionnaire and to biochemical and hemodynamic measurements known to reflect excessive alcohol consumption. The diagnostic sensitivity and the specificity for high alcohol intake (&gt; or = 24 g/day of ethanol) were 44% and 87%, respectively. The group with reported high alcohol intake (n = 32) was characterized by hemodynamic and biochemical changes typical of alcohol abuse. The corresponding profile for the patients with increased serum CDT concentrations (n = 70) was different in several respects, indicating a considerable number of false-positive tests. We conclude that serum CDT determination had low sensitivity and specificity for excessive alcohol consumption in this group of hypertensive patients. The results illustrate the importance of evaluating new laboratory methods in unselected patient populations before drawing any conclusions about their clinical value.


1994 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 139-145
Author(s):  
Georg Høyer ◽  
Odd Nilssen ◽  
Tormod Brenn ◽  
Helge Schirmer

Although the archipelago of Svalbard is a part of Norway (situated 78 degrees north), the area is subject to a different alcohol policy than on the Norwegian mainland. In Svalbard, the prices of alcohol are low (in comparison to those on the mainland): however, personal quotas are in force in order to control sales. This study compares the level of alcohol consumption on Svalbard and on the Norwegian mainland. The comparison is based on self-reports of alcohol consumption. In Svalbard all of the residents eighteen years or older were screened by a self-administered questionnaire: alcohol consumption was recorded as an intake of alcohol measured in units during the last week before filling in the questionnaire. On the mainland, the recording was carried out through personal interviews in which respondents were asked about the frequency of alcohol intake and the average amount of intake for each episode in representative periods. The results showed that men in Svalbard consumed 1.7 times more alcohol then the men consumed on the mainland: women, 1.4 times more. The increased level of alcohol consumption can primarily be explained by the lower prices of alcohol in Svalbard. Thus this study strongly confirms the results of other studies which stress the impact of prices on the levels of alcohol consumption.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S414-S414
Author(s):  
Sara L Godina ◽  
Caterina Rosano ◽  
Peter J Gianaros ◽  
Howard J Aizenstein ◽  
Michelle C Carlson ◽  
...  

Abstract Lower neighborhood socioeconomic status (nSES) is associated with poorer cognitive function; underlying neural correlates are unknown. Cross-sectional associations of nSES (six census-derived measures of income, education, and occupation) and gray matter volume (GMV) of eight memory-related regions (hippocampus, middle frontal gyrus, amygdala, insula, parahippocampal gyrus, anterior, middle, and posterior cingulum) were examined in 264 community-dwelling older adults (mean age=83, 56.82% female, 39.02% black). In linear mixed effects models adjusted for total brain atrophy and accounting for geographic clustering, higher nSES was associated with greater GMV of the left hippocampus, left posterior cingulum, and bilateral insula, middle frontal, and parahippocampal gyri. nSES remained associated with GMV of the right insula (β= -32.26, p=0.026, 95%CI: -60.66, -3.86) after adjusting for individual level age, gender, race, income, and education. The nSES and cognitive function association may not be due to gray matter volume differences; other behavioral and biological mediators should be explored.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
WEN HAO ◽  
Wenjing Zhao ◽  
Takashi Kimura ◽  
Shigekazu Ukawa ◽  
Ken Kadoya ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Gait is associated with cognitive function and is a trait marker of dementia; however, research on gait and cognitive function usually concentrates on several individual gait parameters. This study used wearable sensors to measure gait parameters in different aspects and comprehensively explored the association of gait with global cognitive function and domain-specific cognitive function.Methods: The data of this cross-sectional study were obtained from 236 community-dwelling Japanese older adults (125 men and 111 women) aged 70–81 years. Gait was measured by asking participants to walk a 6-meter course and back using the Physilog® sensors (GaiUp®, Switzerland). Global cognitive function and cognitive domains were evaluated by face-to-face interviews using the Japanese version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment. Twenty gait parameters were summarized as independent gait factors using factor analysis. A generalized linear model and linear regression model were used to explore the relationship of gait with global cognitive function and domain-specific cognitive function adjusted for several confounding factors.Results: Factor analysis yielded four gait factors: general cycle, initial contact, propulsion, and mid-swing. Among them, general cycle factor was significantly associated with global cognitive function (β=-0.565, [-0.967, -0.163]), executive function (P=0.012), and memory (P=0.045); initial contact was associated with executive function (P=0.019).Conclusion: Better gait was related to better cognitive function, especially the general cycle, which was correlated with both global and domain-specific cognitive function. The predictive value should be examined in future cohort studies.


2019 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 3
Author(s):  
Bogna A. Drozdowska ◽  
Carlos A. Celis-Morales ◽  
Donald M. Lyall ◽  
Terence J. Quinn

Background: Findings from studies in older adult populations suggest that measures of social engagement may be associated with health outcomes, including cognitive function. Plausibly the magnitude and direction of this association may differ in stroke.  The disabling nature of stroke increases the likelihood of social isolation and stroke survivors are at high risk of cognitive decline. We assessed the association between social engagement and cognitive function in a sample of stroke survivors. Methods: We included available data from stroke survivors in the UK Biobank (N=8776; age range: 40-72; 57.4% male). In a series of regression models, we assessed cross-sectional associations between proxies of social engagement (frequency of family/friend visits, satisfaction with relationships, loneliness, opportunities to confide in someone, participation in social activities) and performance on domain specific cognitive tasks: reaction time, verbal-numerical reasoning, visual memory and prospective memory. We adjusted for demographics, health-, lifestyle-, and stroke-related factors. Accounting for multiple testing, we set our significance threshold at p<0.003. Results: After adjusting for covariates, we found independent associations between faster reaction times and monthly family visits as compared to no visit (standardised beta=-0.32, 95% CI: -0.51 to -0.13, p=0.001, N=4,930); slower reaction times and religious group participation (standardised beta=0.25, 95% CI 0.13 to 0.38, p<0.001, N=4,938); and poorer performance on both verbal-numerical reasoning and prospective memory tasks with loneliness (standardised beta=-0.19, 95% CI: -0.29 to -0.08, p<0.001, N=2,074; odds ratio=0.66, 95% CI: 0.52 to 0.84, p=0.001, N=2,188; respectively). In models where all proxies of social engagement were combined, no associations remained significant. Conclusions: We found limited task-specific associations between cognitive performance and proxies of social engagement, with only loneliness related to two tasks. Further studies are necessary to confirm and improve our understanding of these relationships and investigate the potential to target psychosocial factors to support cognitive function in stroke survivors.


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