Abstract TP38: Cognitive Decline After Stroke Correlates With Small Vessel Disease and Race

Abstract

Introduction: An Asian study found 30% of patients showed a cognitive decline measured by Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score one year after stroke. There is limited US data on this subject. We investigated 1) decline rate in MoCA one year post-stroke 2) racial differences in baseline MoCA post-stroke and 3) if racial differences in small vessel disease (SVD) correlated with the decline in MoCA. Methods: MoCA was assessed in the PREMIERS trial (NCT#02541032) at baseline and one year after index stroke. Sub-scores for each MoCA domain were combined into a total score. The Fazekas scale was used to rate white matter signal abnormalities on patient MRI FLAIR images at baseline. Patients were categorized by total, deep white matter (DWM), and periventricular white matter scores. They were then sub-categorized into none/mild or moderate/severe groups. A one year cognitive decline was defined as a decline in MoCA scores by ≥2 points. Results: Of 280 patients, 30.4% had a ≥2 decline in MoCA score, with no significant difference between AA and white (29.4% vs. 32.9%, p=0.57). However, AA patients had lower baseline total MoCA scores (20.4±4.6 vs. 22.6±3.9, p<0.001), visuospatial/executive (3.1±1.5 vs. 3.7±1.3, p<0.001), naming (2.5±0.7 vs. 2.8±0.4, p=0.001), and attention (4.2±2.1 vs. 4.9±1.9, p<0.001) sub-scores. Overall, baseline MoCA was lower in patients with moderate/severe total Fazekas scores (20.1±5.0 vs. 21.6±4.2, p=0.015) and DWM sub-scores (20.1±5.2 vs. 21.4±4.2, p=0.048). In AA, baseline MoCA remained lower in patients with moderate/severe total Fazekas scores (19.6±5.1 vs. 21.0±4.2, p=0.039) and DWM sub-scores (19.4±5.5 vs. 21.0±4.1, p=0.055). This was contrary to White patients with moderate/severe total Fazekas scores (22.3. ±4.4 vs. 23.0±3.9, p=0.50) and DWM sub-scores (23.1±2.3 vs. 22.7±4.4, p=0.73). Conclusion: We report that 30.4% of patients in this US-based study showed a decline in MoCA score one year post-stroke, which aligns with a similar study conducted in Asia. A significant association was found between the AA race and lower baseline total MoCA score compared to white patients. Moderate/severe total and DWM Fazekas scores are also significantly associated with lower baseline MoCA scores, a finding specific to AA patients.