Associations between NTproBNP and 10‐year cognitive decline in The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA)

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundNT‐proB‐type Natriuretic Peptide (NTproBNP) is a hormone released in response to changes in pressure inside the heart often related to heart failure and other cardiac problems. Early evidence shows significant correlations between brain structure and markers of heart failure including ejection fraction and NTproBNP. We sought to investigate if levels of this biomarker are related to cognitive decline over 10 years in older adults participating in the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA), a nationally representative cohort of adults aged 50 years and older residing across Ireland.MethodLevels of NTproBNP were measured in 4,105 participants, mean age 61.5 years and 53.8% women, from blood drawn at baseline (Wave 1: 2009‐2011). Verbal memory (10‐word immediate and delayed recall) and verbal fluency/ executive function (animal naming) were measured every two‐years over a 10‐year follow‐up (Wave 1 – 6) and were used to create a composite score at each wave which served as a measure of global cognitive function. Linear mixed effect models with adjustment for covariates were performed. Model 1 included age, age^2, sex, education; Model 2 included Model 1 + cardiovascular diseases (heart failure, heart attack, stroke, tia, hypertension, diabetes), lifestyle factors (smoking, alcohol, physical activity, waist‐hip ratio) and depression.ResultNTproBNP was significantly and negatively associated with cognitive function at Wave 3 (B = ‐0.13, 95%CI = ‐0.20, ‐0.05), Wave 4 (B = ‐0.24, 95%CI = ‐0.31, ‐0.16), Wave 5 (B = ‐0.25, 95%CI = ‐0.32, ‐0.17) and Wave 6 (B = ‐0.26, 95%CI = ‐0.34, ‐0.17) (p<.001) (Figure 1). After further adjustment, the associations remained significant.ConclusionThese results suggest that NTproBNP may be useful as an early indicator of cognitive decline in older adults for those with and without current cardiovascular diseases.