scholarly journals Differences in cognitive performance and cognitive decline across European regions: a population-based prospective cohort study

2019 ◽  
Vol 58 ◽  
pp. 80-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomas Formanek ◽  
Anna Kagstrom ◽  
Petr Winkler ◽  
Pavla Cermakova

AbstractBackground:A large variation in cognitive performance exists between European regions. However, it is unclear how older Europeans differ in the rate of cognitive decline.Methods:We analysed data from 22 181 individuals (54% women; median age 71) who participated in the Survey on Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe. Cognition was measured using tests on verbal fluency, immediate and delayed recall. We used linear regression and linear mixed effects regression to examine regional differences in the level of cognitive performance and the rate of cognitive decline.Results:Scandinavians had the highest baseline cognitive scores (mean standardized overall cognitive score 0.3), followed by Western Europeans (mean 0.2), Central and Eastern Europeans (mean 0.1) and individuals from Mediterranean countries (mean -0.4). These differences persisted even after adjustment for sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. The annual cognitive decline in Scandinavia (0.59%) was approximately two times greater than in Western Europe (0.28%), Central and Eastern Europe (0.25%) and Mediterranean countries (0.23%).Discussion:There are substantial differences in cognitive performance as well as rates of cognitive decline among the elderly throughout European regions. This might be explained by differing levels of cognitive reserve.

Neurology ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 91 (17) ◽  
pp. e1602-e1610 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pavla Cermakova ◽  
Tomas Formanek ◽  
Anna Kagstrom ◽  
Petr Winkler

ObjectivesWe aimed to investigate whether socioeconomic position (SEP) in childhood has an effect on the level of cognitive performance and the rate of cognitive decline in older adults.MethodsWe performed a prospective cohort study of individuals enrolled in a multicenter population-based study, SHARE (Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe). Interviews were conducted in 6 waves at approximately 2-year intervals and included examinations of cognitive performance (memory, verbal fluency, delayed recall) and measurements of childhood SEP (participants' household characteristics at the age of 10 years). We estimated the associations of SEP with the level of cognitive performance using linear regression and the relation to the rate of cognitive decline with mixed-effects models.ResultsThis study included 20,244 participants from 16 European countries (median age at baseline 71 years, 54% women). Adverse childhood SEP was associated with a lower level of baseline cognitive performance. This association was attenuated after adjustment for clinical and social risk factors but remained statistically significant. Childhood SEP was not related to the rate of cognitive decline.ConclusionsVariation in childhood SEP helps to explain differences in cognitive performance between older people, but not the rate of decline from their previous level of cognition. Strategies to protect cognitive aging should be applied early in life.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Matej Kucera ◽  
Katrin Wolfova ◽  
Pavla Cermakova

Background: Several early-life factors have been associated with higher risk of developing dementia. It is unclear whether season of birth (SOB) can affect cognitive aging in older adults or not. Objective: We aimed to study the association of SOB with the level of cognitive performance as well as with the rate of cognitive decline. Methods: We studied 70,203 individuals who participated in the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe. Cognition was measured with tests on verbal fluency and immediate and delayed recall. We assessed the association of SOB with the level of cognitive performance using multiple linear regression and with the rate of cognitive decline using linear mixed-effects models. Results: When compared to individuals born in winter and adjusted for sociodemographic and health-related characteristics, being born in summer was associated with a higher level of delayed recall (B 0.05; 95%CI 0.01 to 0.09) and verbal fluency (B 0.15; 95%CI 0.00 to 0.29) and being born in fall with a higher level of immediate recall (B 0.04; 95%CI 0.01 to 0.08) and verbal fluency (B 0.15; 95%CI 0.01 to 0.29). Individuals born in summer had a higher yearly decline in delayed recall (B –0.005; 95%CI –0.009 to 0.000), while the scores in delayed recall in participants born in spring showed an inverse trend (B 0.005; 95%CI 0.000 to 0.010). Conclusion: Individuals born in winter seem to carry a life-long disadvantage in a lower level of cognitive performance; however, being born in winter does not seem to affect the rate of cognitive decline.


2015 ◽  
Vol 94 (3) ◽  
pp. 136
Author(s):  
João Gabriel Magalhães Dias ◽  
Pablo Rodrigo Andrade da Silva ◽  
Tânia Corrêa de Toledo Ferraz Alvez

The elderly population is growing worldwide, and therefore cognitive decline and dementia is a major problem for healthcare system. However, many elders do not develop dementia or significant cognitive impairment even though present brain lesions, such as cortical atrophy and/or lesions, leading to the concept of Cognitive Reserve (CR). The main objective of this review is to establish the recent findings of CR in elderly cognition and explore some of the cognitive markers related to CR. In order to accomplish that we carried out a search for papers published either in English or Portuguese language in the last 5 years in the Medline database using as keywords cognitive reserve, elderly and aging/ageing. We filtered 14 studies that specifically approached the neuropsychological aspects (e.g, memory, attention, orientation, executive function) and reviewed them in detail. Based on these papers regarding old-aged individuals, education appears to have several implications on CR by strengthening cognitive abilities, however does not appear to impact on cognitive decline. Besides, we realized that cognitive performance is one of the form to measure CR, even though the methods cannot be standardized, which may be the cause of some varied conclusions. Regarding CR, education was the most prevalent measure, and CR seems to have a beneficial effect on executive function and episodic memory and it seems to act by both neural reserve and neural compensation. Print exposure appears as a potential variable positively related to cognitive performance and CR.


Neurology ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 78 (Meeting Abstracts 1) ◽  
pp. P07.157-P07.157
Author(s):  
C. Leibson ◽  
K. Hall Long ◽  
J. Ransom ◽  
R. Roberts ◽  
S. Hass ◽  
...  

2005 ◽  
Vol 67 (S 01) ◽  
pp. 110-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
W Rathmann ◽  
B Haastert ◽  
A Icks ◽  
C Herder ◽  
H Kolb ◽  
...  

BMJ ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 329 (7471) ◽  
pp. 881 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J Vinkers ◽  
Jacobijn Gussekloo ◽  
Max L Stek ◽  
Rudi G J Westendorp ◽  
Roos C van der Mast

Abstract Objective To examine the temporal relation between depression and cognitive impairment in old age. Design Prospective, population based study with four years of follow up. Setting City of Leiden, the Netherlands. Participants 500 people aged 85 years at recruitment. Main outcome measures Annual assessments of depressive symptoms (15 item geriatric depression scale), global cognitive function (mini-mental state examination), attention (Stroop test), processing speed (letter digit coding test), and immediate and delayed recall (12 word learning test). Results At 85 years old, participants' depressive symptoms and cognitive impairment were highly significantly correlated (P < 0.001). During follow up, an accelerated annual increase of depressive symptoms was associated with impaired attention (0.08 points (95% confidence interval 0.01 to 0.16)), immediate recall (0.17 points (0.09 to 0.25)), and delayed recall (0.10 points (0.02 to 0.18)) at baseline. In contrast, depressive symptoms at baseline were not related to an accelerated cognitive decline during follow up (P > 0.05). Conclusion Caregivers should be aware of the development of depressive symptoms when cognitive impairment is present. However, the presence of depression only does not increase the risk of cognitive decline.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrin Wolfova ◽  
Zsofia Csajbok ◽  
Anna Kagstrom ◽  
Ingemar Kåreholt ◽  
Pavla Cermakova

AbstractWe aimed to explore sex differences in the association of childhood socioeconomic position (SEP) with the level of cognitive performance and the rate of cognitive decline. We studied 84,059 individuals (55% women; mean age 64 years) from the Survey on Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe. Sex differences in the association of childhood SEP (household characteristics at age 10) with the level of cognitive performance (verbal fluency, immediate recall, delayed recall) were analysed using multilevel linear regression. Structural equation modelling tested education, depressive symptoms and physical state as mediators. The relationship between childhood socioeconomic advantage and disadvantage and the rate of cognitive decline was assessed using linear mixed-effects models. Higher childhood SEP was associated with a higher level of cognitive performance to a greater extent in women (B = 0.122; 95% CI 0.092–0.151) than in men (B = 0.109; 95% CI 0.084–0.135). The strongest mediator was education. Childhood socioeconomic disadvantage was related to a higher rate of decline in delayed recall in both sexes, with a greater association in women. Strategies to prevent impaired late-life cognitive functioning, such as reducing childhood socioeconomic disadvantages and improving education, might have a greater benefit for women.


Author(s):  
Marina Z. Nakhla ◽  
Kelsey A. Holiday ◽  
J. Vincent Filoteo ◽  
Zvinka Z. Zlatar ◽  
Vanessa L. Malcarne ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective: The utility of informant-based measures of cognitive decline to accurately describe objective cognitive performance in Parkinson’s disease (PD) without dementia is uncertain. Due to the clinical relevance of this information, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between informant-based reports of patient cognitive decline via the Informant Questionnaire of Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE) and objective cognition in non-demented PD controlling for cognitive status (i.e., mild cognitive impairment; PD-MCI and normal cognition; PD-NC). Method: One-hundred and thirty-nine non-demented PD participants (PD-MCI n = 38; PD-NC n = 101) were administered measures of language, executive function, attention, learning, delayed recall, visuospatial function, mood, and motor function. Each participant identified an informant to complete the IQCODE and a mood questionnaire. Results: Greater levels of informant-based responses of patient cognitive decline on the IQCODE were significantly associated with worse objective performance on measures of global cognition, attention, learning, delayed recall, and executive function in the overall sample, above and beyond covariates and cognitive status. However, the IQCODE was not significantly associated with language or visuospatial function. Conclusions: Results indicate that informant responses, as measured by the IQCODE, may provide adequate information on a wide range of cognitive abilities in non-demented PD, including those with MCI and normal cognition. Findings have important clinical implications for the utility of the IQCODE in the identification of PD patients in need of further evaluation, monitoring, and treatment.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 1445
Author(s):  
José Miguel Sánchez-Nieto ◽  
Uriel Dagoberto Rivera-Sánchez ◽  
Víctor Manuel Mendoza-Núñez

Background: Previous systematic reviews report that arterial hypertension (AHT) is associated with lower performance in cognition in the elderly. However, some studies show that with higher blood pressure, a better cognitive performance is obtained. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between AHT with cognitive performance in the elderly. Methods: the review involved a search on PubMed, Scopus and PsycINFO databases from January 1990 to March, 2020 to identify the relationship among AHT and cognitive performance in older people. Results: 1170 articles were identified, 136 complete papers were reviewed, a qualitative analysis of 26 studies and a quantitative analysis of eight studies were carried out. It was found that people with AHT have a lower performance in processing speed SMD = 0.40 (95% CI: 0.25, 0.54), working memory SMD = 0.28 (95% CI: 0.15, 0.41) in short-term memory and learning SMD = −0.27 (95% CI: −0.37, −0.17) and delayed recall SMD = −0.20 (95% CI: −0.35, −0.05). Only one study found that higher blood pressure was associated with better memory performance. Conclusion: Our results suggest that high blood pressure primarily affects processing speed, working memory, short-term memory and learning and delayed recall.


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