Association between Carotid Plaque and Cognitive Function in the elderly: the KURE study = Association between Carotid Plaque and Cognitive Function in the elderly: the KURE study

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Object: Few studies have investigated the association between carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and cognitive function in the elderly. However, the role of carotid plaques in the development of incident dementia remains unclear. We aimed to evaluate the association between carotid plaques and cognitive function in the elderly. Methods: Total 2,942 subjects aged ≥65 years were recruited through the Korean Urban Rural Elderly cohort study from 2012 to 2014. Participants underwent carotid ultrasonography measures of carotid plaque and carotid IMT at four sites, including the bilateral common carotid arteries and carotid bulbs. Cognitive function was assessed using the Korean version of the Mini-Mental Status Examination for dementia screening (MMSE-DS). Results: Multivariable analyses adjusted for sex, age, smoking history, and comorbidity, revealed that the presence of plaques were significantly associated with lower test scores on the MMSE-DS (p＝0.002). The number of plaques (β＝-0.056, p＜0.011) and the total plaque area (β＝-0.031, p＜0.001) were associated with lower MMSE-DS scores. However, maximal IMT and mean IMT of carotid artery were not significantly associated with cognitive function after additional adjustment. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that carotid atherosclerosis measures such as the presence and number of plaques and total plaque area were independent predictors of lower cognitive function in the elderly. Keywords: Carotid plaque; Carotid IMT; Cognition; Elderly. Acknowledgements: This research was supported by a fund (2011-E63005-00, 2012-E63001-001, 2013-E63007-00, 2013-E63007-01, 2013-E63007-02) by Research of Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.