Abstract
BackgroundProspective investigations of the association between impaired orthostatic blood pressure (BP) regulation and cognitive decline in older adults are limited, and findings to-date have been mixed. The aim of this study was to determine whether impaired recovery of orthostatic BP was associated with change in cognitive function over a 2-year period, in a population based sample of community dwelling older adults.MethodsData from the first two waves of the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing were analysed. Orthostatic BP was measured during a lying to standing orthostatic stress protocol at wave 1 using beat-to-beat digital plethysmography, and impaired recovery of BP at 40 s post stand was investigated. Cognitive function was assessed at wave 1 and wave 2 (2 years later) using the Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE), verbal fluency and word recall tasks.ResultsAfter adjustment for measured, potential confounders, and multiple imputation for missing data, the change in the number of errors between waves on the MMSE was 10 % higher [IRR (95 % CI) = 1.10 (0.96, 1.26)] in those with impaired recovery at 40 s. However, this was not statistically significant (p = 0.17). Impaired BP recovery was not associated with change in performance on any of the other cognitive measures.ConclusionsThere was no clear evidence for an association between impaired recovery of orthostatic BP and change in cognition over a 2-year period in this nationally representative cohort of older adults. Longer follow-up and more detailed cognitive testing would be advantageous to further investigate the relationship between orthostatic BP and cognitive decline.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10286-016-0340-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Orthostatic hypotension (OH) is the term given to an exaggerated drop in blood pressure (BP) on standing from a seated or lying position
The aim of this study was to determine whether impaired recovery of orthostatic BP was associated with change in cognitive function over a 2-year period, in a population based sample of community dwelling older adults
BP recovery was not associated with change in performance on any of the other cognitive measures
Summary
Orthostatic hypotension (OH) is the term given to an exaggerated drop in blood pressure (BP) on standing from a seated or lying (supine) position. Individuals exhibiting delayed recovery after standing are more likely to be frail [4] and a failure to recover BP to baseline within a minute after standing has been associated with incident mortality in the subsequent 5 years among older adult falls clinic attendees [5]. Prospective investigations of the association between impaired orthostatic blood pressure (BP) regulation and cognitive decline in older adults are limited, and findings to-date have been mixed. The aim of this study was to determine whether impaired recovery of orthostatic BP was associated with change in cognitive function over a 2-year period, in a population based sample of community dwelling older adults
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