The association between metabolic syndrome components and cognitive function in community-dwelling middle-aged and older adults: the first wave result of a cohort study

BackgroundThe components of metabolic syndrome (MetS) have previously been demonstrated to be contributors to cognitive decline in older adults as individual factors, but not collectively as a syndrome. This study investigated whether adults >= 50 years old who meet the criteria for MetS were more likely to develop impaired cognition than those without MetS.MethodsAdults aged 50 years or older without significant cognitive impairment who received outpatient care at Taipei Veterans General Hospital were recruited. Waist circumference, blood tests for Mets components, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) were measured. Demographics, health condition, cognitive function (by Montreal Cognitive Assessment Taiwanese version, MoCA-T, and AD-8), depression symptoms (by Geriatric Depression Scale-15) and functional status (by Barthel's Index, and Lawton & Brody instrumental activities of daily living, IADL) were evaluated. Associations between MetS and cognitive function were analyzed by multivariate logistic regression.ResultsData of 567 participants were analyzed. The prevalence of MetS of the study population was 34.2%. MetS status was not significantly correlated to cognitive decline as indicated by Montreal Cognitive Assessment Taiwan version (p = 0.13) and AD-8 (p = 0.42). Mild abdominal obesity decreased the risk of developing impaired cognition in women (adjusted OR = 0.62, 95% CI = 0.42, 0.93, p = 0.02) but not in men (adjusted OR = 0.84, 95% CI = 0.46, 1.53, p = 0.58).ConclusionsMetS is not a significant contributory factor to cognitive decline in community-dwelling middle-aged and older adults. An optimal waist circumference in community-dwelling older women is protective against the development of mild dementia.