Abstract 14509: Life’s Simple 7 Predicts Mild Cognitive Impairment and Dementia in an Older Adult Population

Abstract

Introduction: The American Heart Association’s Life’s Simple 7 (LS7) is a metric used widely in cardiovascular disease research. Lower scores on Life's Simple 7 predicts a lower performance on measures of cognitive functioning in young and middle-aged adults. Whether this is the case in older adults, however, is unclear. Hypothesis: Higher LS7 scores at baseline will be associated with a reduced risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia in older adults. Methods: Data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) between 2010 to 2018 was used in the analysis. The respondents were older than 50 years old and free from dementia and MCI at baseline. A survival-analysis was used and failures were defined as having MCI or dementia as determined by a 27-point Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS). LS7 scores were computed using smoking status (current and former), physical activity, diet, blood pressure, total cholesterol, blood glucose, and body mass index (BMI). A cox proportional hazard model was used to evaluate hazard ratio of developing mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia in older adults. Results: There were 1,604 respondents with complete data included in this analysis. Of these respondents, 563 (35.1%) were male and 1,041 (64.9%) were female. 1,224 (76.3%) were white, 236 (14.7%) were black, and 143 (8.9%) were of another race. The average age of the respondents at baseline was 62.3±10.6 years. In 7,505 person-years, there were 1,197 events of MCI or dementia. After adjusting for age, gender, and educational attainment, a LS7 score less than 5 was associated with a 1.51 times higher risk of MCI or dementia than a LS7 score greater than 8 (p < 0.005). However, LS7 scores between 7 or 8 was not significantly associated with increased risk of MCI or dementia compared to a LS7 score greater than 8 (HR: 1.12, p = 0.09). Conclusions: Lower LS7 score is associated with significantly lower performance on a measure of global cognitive functioning. As in young and middle-aged adults, maintaining a heart-healthy lifestyle may be important in preventing cognitive decline in older adults.