Arterial Stiffness Determined According to the Cardio-Ankle Vascular Index (CAVI) is Associated with Mild Cognitive Decline in Community-Dwelling Elderly Subjects

Aims: The purpose of this study was to determine the cross-sectional relationship between the cognitive function and cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) in Japanese community-dwelling elderly subjects. Methods: A total of 179 Japanese community-dwelling elderly subjects were recruited for this study. The age, height, weight, gender and past medical history (cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia) of each participant was recorded. In addition, the degree of arterial stiffness was determined according to the CAVI, while the cognitive function was assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). After dividing the cohort into two groups according to the MMSE score (<= 26, > 26), we used a multiple regression analysis to assign the level of the cognitive function as a dependent variable. Results: The data were statistically analyzed for the 174 participants (84 men and 90 women) who completed the data collection process without omissions. A multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that a higher weight (Odds Ratio [OR]: 1.05, 95% Confidence Interval [95% CI]: 1.00-1.11, p=0.03), male gender (OR: 3.13, 95% CI: 1.05-9.34, p=0.04) and lower CAVI (OR: 0.68, 95% CI: 0.48-0.96, p=0.03) were significantly correlated with a higher MMSE score. We also found significant correlations between the MMSE and weight (OR: 1.11, 95% CI: 1.03-1.19, p=0.01) and CAVI (OR: 0.57, 95% CI: 0.33-0.98, p=0.04) in elderly men only using a gender-specific analysis. Conclusions: We found that the elderly subjects with a high CAVI exhibited a worse cognitive function even after adjusting for age, height, weight and gender. This finding therefore indicates the usefulness of the CAVI in the early detection of dementia.