Uncontrolled systemic arterial hypertension and diabetes accelerate the decline in memory and executive function in people over 50 years old?

• Grant number: 20/02040-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: March 01, 2020
• End date: February 28, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Collective Health - Epidemiology
• Principal Investigator: Tiago da Silva Alexandre
• Grantee: Natália Cochar Soares
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde (CCBS). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 18/13917-3 - Musculoskeletal aging: metabolic and functional repercussions and mortality risk in people aged 50 and older, AP.JP

Abstract

There are cases where individuals with uncontrolled diabetes and systemic arterial hypertension may develop more complications related to these diseases, including cognitive decline. However, there is a scarcity of longitudinal studies that assess this condition. Therefore, the purpose of this project is to analyze the trajectory of memory and executive function performance in individuals over 50 years old with uncontrolled systemic arterial hypertension and diabetes in twelve years of follow-up, as well as to check if there are diferences of sex in these trajectories. For this, data from 7,666 participants in English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) will be used. The study outcomes will be the memory performance, assessed by the list of words, and the executive function performance, assessed by the verbal fluency test. The exposure will be classified according to the state of systemic arterial hypertension and diabetes of each individual by the self-report and by the measurements of blood pressure and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c). Participants who do not report diabetes and have HbA1c levels <6.5% will be classified as "non-diabetic"; "Controlled diabetics" those who report diabetes and have HbA1c levels <7% and "uncontrolled diabetics" those who report diabetes and have HbA1c levels e 7%. Those who do not report hypertension and have systolic blood pressure d 139 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure d 89 mmHg will be classified as "non-hypertensive"; "Controlled hypertension" those who report hypertension and have systolic blood pressure <140 mmHg and diastolic <90 mmHg and "uncontrolled hypertension" those who report hypertension and have systolic blood pressure e 140 mmHg and / or diastolic e 90 mmHg. Finally, participants will be classified into nine combinatorial groups according to the presence or not and the control of diabetes and systemic arterial hypertension. For the analysis of the trajectory of memory and executive function, generalized mixed linear models will be used, stratified by sex, and controlled by sociodemographic variables, lifestyle and health conditions. It is expected that uncontrolled diabetic and hypertensive individuals will present greater impairment of memory and executive function in the twelve years of follow-up and that there will be a difference between the sexes in the course of this outcome. (AU)