AUTHOR=Huang Haixia , Zheng Tianheng , Liu Fang , Wu Zhuoli , Liang Huazheng , Wang Shaoshi TITLE=Orthostatic Hypotension Predicts Cognitive Impairment in the Elderly: Findings from a Cohort Study JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neurology VOLUME=8 YEAR=2017 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2017.00121 DOI=10.3389/fneur.2017.00121 ISSN=1664-2295 ABSTRACT=Background

Orthostatic hypotension (OH) is a known risk factor for cerebral ischemia, but its correlation with cognitive impairment (CI) is not well established.

Objective

The aim of this study is to explore the relationship between OH and CI in the elderly.

Methods

The study group consisted of 44 OH patients who presented with drowsiness, vertigo, and fatigue between January 2009 and December 2011 (OH group). Eighty-eight healthy elderly were paired with those in the OH group in a 1:2 based on their education levels (NOH group). Baseline sociodemographic information and cognition-related measures were collected for both groups. Cognitive function was assessed 4 years later using MMSE.

Results

The overall incidence of CI was 14.0% among the 114 subjects who completed the follow-up assessment. There was a significant difference in the incidence of CI between the OH group (23.7%) and the NOH group (9.2%) (χ2 = 4.399, P = 0.036). After excluding the influence of age (OR = 1.199, 95% CI: 1.072–1.340, P = 0.001) and education years (OR = 0.568, 95% CI: 0.371–0.869, P = 0.009), OH (OR = 4.047, 95% CI: 1.144–14.313, P = 0.030) became an independent risk factor for CI.

Conclusion

OH can lead to CI. We suggest that future studies, with a larger sample size, use OH exposure time instead of OH exposure population to verify the conclusion of this study.