April 16, 2016
Women that had higher blood tension while pregnant displayed later cognitive impairment and smaller sized mind volume compared along with women that had normotensive pregnancies.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Long term outcomes suggest that women that endured hypertension throughout pregnancy demonstrate even worse cognitive function and smaller sized mind volume once compared along with women that were normotensive once pregnant.
“These outcomes suggest that [hypertensive pregnancy disorders (HPDs)] are independent predictors of impaired mind structure and cognitive function, and could determine those women at better risk of future dementia,” study investigator Michelle Mielke, PhD, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, told Neurology Advisor.
The strive of the study, which existed at the 201six annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), was to evaluate the partnership in between HPDs and cognitive performance and mind magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings decades later in a multiethnic sample of women.
“Even though [cardiovascular disease (CVD)] is a well-recognized risk reason for cognitive decline and dementia, there is a dearth of article as to the effects of HPD when it come to mind structure and cognitive function, and whether such an association could be solely mediated by CVD,” Dr Mielke said. “Previous studies reported associations in between HPD and subjective cognitive complaints or mind [white matter hyperintensities] when it come to MRI.”
Dr Mielke noted, however, that these studies had little sample dimensions and just assessed mind structure and cognitive function much less compared to 10 years after HPD.
“The longer-term effects of HPD when it come to mind structure and cognitive function stay unknown, however [are] essential to examine to find out whether HPD is a risk reason for dementia,” she said.
For the study, Dr Mielke and colleagues enrolled 1167 women (mean age, 61 years) that participated in the Family Blood tension Project Genetic Epidemiology Network of Arteriopathy (GENOA) study. The researchers done a neurocognitive battery as portion of the ancillary Genetics of Microangiopathic mind Injury study.
In all, 972 women underwent MRI assessment that measured brain, ventricular, and white matter lesion volumes.
Researchers motivated a history of HPD via a self-report along with a validated questionnaire. In addition, they utilized linear models match along with generalized estimating equations to find out the association in between HPDs and cognition after adjusting for age, race, education, physique mass index, smoking, current hypertension, and family history of hypertension, and they used regression models for the mind MRI outcomes adjusted for complete intracranial volume.
According to outcomes of the study, women along with a history of HPD did even worse when it come to every one of processing rate measures, including digit symbol substitution test (mean score, 41.2 vs 43.4; P=.005); Trail Making Test portion A (mean seconds, 45.1 vs 42.2; P=.035), and the Stroop effect test (mean score, 173.9 vs 181; P=.002).
Furthermore, compared along with women that had a history of normotensive pregnancies, those along with a history of hypertensive pregnancies had smaller sized mind volume (28six vs 297; P=.023).
“Our study suggests that women along with histories of HPD have actually better mind atrophy decades after their pregnancies compared along with women that had normotensive pregnancies. There was additionally a trend for white matter lesions [in this group],” Dr Mielke said. “Further, our outcomes indicate that cognitive impairment occurs in the establishing of structural mind modifications for women along with a mean age of 61 years. Thus, women along with histories of HPD could should be carefully monitored for indications and symptoms of cognitive decline, and their modifiable risk factors should be treated adequately.”
Dr Mielke added that HPDs are increasingly recognized as a risk reason for CVD and, therefore, cognitive decline and mind modifications might be mediated solely by subsequent diagnoses of hypertension or CVD.
“Alternatively, HPDs could represent a risk reason that is independent of the effects of CVD,” she said.
Reference
Mielke M, Milic N, Weissgerber TL, et al.. Cognition and mind atrophy decades after hypertensive pregnancy disorders. Presented at: The 68th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology; April 15-21, 2016; Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Abstract P1.089
