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Cognitive impairment linked to presence of more metabolic syndrome components

Women had a 23% increased risk for cognitive impairment with each additional component of metabolic syndrome.

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Older women with metabolic syndrome were likely to develop cognitive impairment during a four-year period, according to results of a recent study.

Researchers reported a specific association between cognitive impairment and increasing number of metabolic syndrome components in this population.

“In addition to having metabolic syndrome itself — three components or more — for every one additional increase in syndrome components there was also a significant increase in risk for cognitive impairment,” Andrea L. Weston, MPH, research associate at University of California San Francisco and San Francisco Veterans’ Affairs Medical Center, told Endocrine Today.

The multicenter, prospective study included 4,895 older women (mean age, 66.2 years) with osteoporosis, a subgroup analysis of the MORE study. All women were free of cognitive impairment at baseline. Clinically significant cognitive impairment was defined as dementia and/or a low Short Blessed cognitive test score.

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After four years, cognitive impairment was present in 7.2% of the 497 women who had metabolic syndrome compared with 4.1% of the 4,398 women who did not have metabolic syndrome (age-adjusted OR=1.66; 95% CI, 1.14-2.41). Age-adjusted risk for cognitive impairment was increased by 23% with each additional component of metabolic syndrome (OR=1.23; 95% CI, 1.09-1.39).

The components included obesity (n=518; 10.6%), hypertriglyceridemia (n=895; 18.3%), low LDL levels (n=1,200; 24.5%), hypertension (n=1,944; 39.7%) and hyperglycemia (n=381; 7.8%).

“This means that it is important for older patients with metabolic syndrome to be screened early for cognitive impairment, and that the component symptoms of the syndrome should be treated early,” said Kristine Yaffe, MD, professor of psychiatry neurology, and epidemiology and biostatistics at UCSF.

Future research should address aggressive control of metabolic syndrome components and identification of cognitive impairment in this patient population, according to the study. – by Katie Kalvaitis

Yaffe K. Arch Neurol. 2009;66:324-328.