Wang Yucheng, Zhang Huanrui, Liu Linzi, Li Zijia, Zhou Yang, Wei Jiayan, Xu Yixiao, Zhou Yifang, Tang Yanqing
Department of Psychiatry, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
School of Public Health, China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
Front Aging Neurosci. 2023 Aug 4;15:1229559. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2023.1229559. eCollection 2023.
Cognitive decline in the elderly population is a growing concern, and vascular factors, such as hypertension, diabetes, cerebrovascular disease, and coronary heart disease, have been associated with cognitive impairments. This study aims to provide deeper insights into the structure of cognitive function networks under these different vascular factors and explore their potential associations with specific cognitive domains.
Cognitive function was assessed using a modified Chinese version of the mini-mental state examination (MMSE) scale, and intensity centrality and side weights were estimated by network modeling. The network structure of cognitive function was compared across subgroups by including vascular factors as subgroup variables while controlling for comorbidities and confounders.
The results revealed that cerebrovascular disease and coronary heart disease had a more significant impact on cognitive function. Cerebrovascular disease was associated with weaker centrality in memory and spatial orientation, and a sparser cognitive network structure. Coronary heart disease was associated with weaker centrality in memory, repetition, executive function, recall, attention, and calculation, as well as a sparser cognitive network structure. The NCT analyses further highlighted significant differences between the cerebrovascular disease and coronary heart disease groups compared to controls in terms of overall network structure and connection strength.
Our findings suggest that specific cognitive domains may be more vulnerable to impairments in patients with cerebrovascular disease and coronary heart disease. These insights could be used to improve the accuracy and sensitivity of cognitive screening in these patient populations, inform personalized cognitive intervention strategies, and provide a better understanding of the potential mechanisms underlying cognitive decline in patients with vascular diseases.
老年人群的认知衰退日益受到关注，高血压、糖尿病、脑血管疾病和冠心病等血管因素已被证实与认知障碍有关。本研究旨在更深入地了解这些不同血管因素下认知功能网络的结构，并探索它们与特定认知领域的潜在关联。
使用改良中文版简易精神状态检查表（MMSE）评估认知功能，并通过网络建模估计强度中心性和边权重。将血管因素作为亚组变量，同时控制合并症和混杂因素，比较各亚组认知功能的网络结构。
结果显示，脑血管疾病和冠心病对认知功能的影响更为显著。脑血管疾病与记忆和空间定向方面较弱的中心性以及较稀疏的认知网络结构相关。冠心病与记忆、复述、执行功能、回忆、注意力和计算方面较弱的中心性以及较稀疏的认知网络结构相关。NCT分析进一步突出了脑血管疾病组和冠心病组与对照组相比在整体网络结构和连接强度方面的显著差异。
我们的研究结果表明，特定认知领域在脑血管疾病和冠心病患者中可能更容易受到损害。这些见解可用于提高这些患者群体认知筛查的准确性和敏感性，为个性化认知干预策略提供依据，并更好地理解血管疾病患者认知衰退的潜在机制。
