Does Increased Arterial Stiffness Herald Cognitive Impairment?

Abstract

See related article, p 2256. Cognitive impairment or dementia is one of the most frequent causes of disability in the elderly. A recent meta-analysis reports global prevalence of dementia from all causes to be between 5% and 7% of adults of age >60 years.1 It doubles every 5 years and reaches >30% at the age of 90 years in the most regions of world.1 Dementia has become a significant economic burden in aging societies worldwide. There is a transitional phase between normal function and dementia. The term mild cognitive impairment (MCI) has been introduced to define such transitional cognitive dysfunction in the clinical and research settings.2 The prevalence of MCI is close to 20% in people aged >70 years.2 Given the fact that elderly patients with MCI have a high risk of developing dementia, identification of early biomarkers of MCI would be a critical step to facilitate construction of measures for prevention of dementia. Arterial stiffness refers to a reduction in the ability of large arteries to readily accommodate the increase in blood volume ejected from the heart during systole.3 It has been proposed as an indirect measure of brain microcirculation and small-vessel damage.4 Recent evidence has suggested that cerebral small-vessel disease is involved in pathophysiology of …