Relationships Of Metabolic Syndrome And Cardiorespiratory Fitness With Cognitive Impairment In Korean Older Adults

Abstract

Metabolic syndrome (Mets), which refers to a clustering of central obesity, increased resting blood pressure, increased fasting glucose, increased triglycerides and decreased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, is associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular diseases and mental health conditions including cognitive decline. Poor cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is another-established risk factor for the health conditions. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships of MetS and CRF with cognitive impairments in Korean older adults. METHODS: Study participants were community dwelling Korean older adults (n = 509/82% women) aged 60-89 years. Mets was defined according to the Asian waist circumference criteria based on the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III criteria. CRF was measured using a submaximal exercise 6-minute walking test. Cognitive impairment was assessed with the Mini-Mental State Examination for Dementia Screening of Korean version (MMSE-KC). Cognitive impairment was defined as an MMSE-KC score of <1.5 standard deviations from the age-, sex-, and education-adjusted norm for older Koreans. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to assess the relationships of Mets and CRF with cognitive impairment at p = 0.05 with the SPSS-PC software (version 27.0). RESULTS: The prevalence of cognitive impairment was 23.4% in total, with 14.0% in men and 25.5% in women. Compared to no Mets plus normal CRF, the risk for cognitive impairment was incremental from Mets only (OR (95% CI) = 1.747 (1.044-2.923), p = 0.043) to low CRF only (OR (95% CI) = 2.246 (1.146-4.402), p = 0.018) and Mets plus low CRF (OR (95% CI) = 3.066 (1.711-5.492), p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The current findings of the study suggest an individual and synergistic effects of Mets and low CRF on cognitive impairments in Korean older adults. Supported by the National ResearchFoundation funded by the Korea Government (NRF-2018R1D1A1B07048210 & 2020S1A5B5A16084067).