Abstract
Background: Diabetes and hypertension are two highly prevalent diseases in the old population. They are highly related such that comorbidity is common. Objectives: To examine (i) the independent impact of the respective diseases on cognitive decline in very old age and (ii) the interactive impact of the two diseases on cognitive decline. Subjects: 258 individuals (mean age = 83 years), all non-demented at baseline. Of these, 128 individuals (non-cases) were free from diabetes and hypertension, 92 individuals had a diagnosis of hypertension, 16 had a type 2 diabetes mellitus diagnosis without hypertension, and 22 had comorbid diabetes and hypertension. Method: A population-based longitudinal study of ageing (The OCTO-Twin Study), including four measurement occasions 2 years apart. The Mini-Mental State Examination was used to measure general cognitive function. Data were analysed using SAS Proc Mixed multilevel modelling. Results: Longitudinal trajectories indicated a steeper decline in cognitive function related to diabetes but not related to hypertension. However, the results indicated greatest cognitive decline among persons with comorbid diabetes and hypertension. Conclusions: It is concluded that comorbidity of diabetes and hypertension produce a pronounced cognitive decline. This finding emphasises the importance of prevention and treatment of those highly prevalent diseases in the old population.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 355-361 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Age and Ageing |
Volume | 33 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jul 2004 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Cognitive decline
- Hypertension
- Longitudinal study
- Older age
- Type 2 diabetes mellitus
- Vascular disease
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Aging
- Geriatrics and Gerontology