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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Aging Neurosci.
Sec. Neurocognitive Aging and Behavior
Volume 16 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2024.1465310
This article is part of the Research Topic Mental, Sensory, Physical and Life Style Parameters Related to Cognitive Decline in Aging View all 17 articles

Association of cardiovascular health with cognitive function and the mediating effect of depressive state

Provisionally accepted
Yiwei Hu Yiwei Hu Xuelu Sun Xuelu Sun Chen Guo Chen Guo Ruiyun Wu Ruiyun Wu Jia-Hao Dou Jia-Hao Dou Shoufang Song Shoufang Song Fanshun Guo Fanshun Guo Jin Wei Jin Wei *
  • The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Although previous research has substantiated lifestyle and cardiovascularrelated measures have some impact on cognitive function, studies focusing on the correlation between Life's Essential 8 (LE8), an indicator for quantifying cardiovascular health (CVH), and cognitive function are limited. Consequently, this study sought to explore the potential link between CVH and cognitive function as well as to determine if depressive states mediated the relationship. Methods: 2263 individuals were selected from the 2011-2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Post-averaged LE8 scores was classified as low CVH (0-49), moderate CVH (50-79), and high CVH (80-100) according to the American Heart Association (AHA). Cognitive function was evaluated using the Animal Fluency Test (AFT), the Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST), the instant recall test (IRT), and the delayed recall test (DRT). The Z-score is figured by subtracting the average of the scores of four test sections and dividing by the standard deviation. Models of multi-variable linear regression were employed to appraise the relationships between CVH and the Z-score for cognitive function. Depression was assessed through the utilization of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Points of 10 or above indicated a positive diagnosis. Weighted linear regression and restricted cubic spline (RCS) were employed to evaluate the correlation between CVH and cognitive function.Pearson's test was utilized to explore the interrelation among primary variables and mediated effects analyses of depressive states.Results: A significant positive linear relationship was observed between LE8 score and cognitive function Z-score. In all models, there was a positive correlation between higher Z-score for cognitive function and every ten points added to the LE8 score, which evaluates CVH. The findings of the mediating effect study indicated that the effects of cardiovascular health on cognitive function were partially mediated by depression.Conclusions: Results showed a meaningful positive linear correlation between the level of CVH and cognitive function, with a mediating role for depression. These results accentuate the significance of sustaining high CVH and avoiding depression to improve cognitive functioning.

    Keywords: Cardiovascular health, cognition function, Life's Essential 8, Depression state, NHANES

    Received: 22 Jul 2024; Accepted: 03 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Hu, Sun, Guo, Wu, Dou, Song, Guo and Wei. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Jin Wei, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China

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