Cumulative Effects of Metabolic and Vascular Risk Factors on Cognitive Decline among Older Mexican-Americans

Brian Downer, University of Texas at Galveston
Kyriakos S. Markides, University of Texas at Galveston
Mukaila Raji, University of Texas at Galveston

Objective: To examine the effects of metabolic and vascular conditions on cognitive decline among older Mexican Americans. Methods: The final sample included 2659 participants of the Hispanic EPESE. Linear mixed-effects regression was used to model cognitive decline across six examination waves (1993-2007) according to the number (zero, one, two, three-four) of metabolic and vascular risk factors (hypertension, diabetes, stroke, and heart attack). Effect sizes were based on the percent change in marginal variance for the linear mixed-effects model. Results: Participants with two or three-four risk factors had significantly greater cognitive decline compared to participants with zero risk factors. Stroke and diabetes increased the marginal variance by 2.1% and 1.2%, respectively. Hypertension and heart disease each increased the marginal variance by less than 1%. Conclusion: Mexican-American older adults with multiple metabolic and vascular risk factors exhibit greater cognitive decline than those with zero risk factors.