? The metabolic syndrome, a constellation of related cardiovascular disease risk factors, and cognitive impairment are common diseases in the elderly, both associated with poor outcomes and both have growing public health significance. Whether the metabolic syndrome is associated with accelerated cognitive aging has not been rigorously addressed. However, we have evidence that many of the individual components of the metabolic syndrome, such as dyslipidemia and impaired fasting glucose, are risk factors for cognitive decline. The goals of this proposal are to determine if the metabolic syndrome is associated with greater cognitive decline and an increased risk of developing dementia in older individuals and to determine if the sum of the individual components of the metabolic syndrome contribute to a greater magnitude than of the individual components of the syndrome. In addition, we will identify potential mechanisms that may link the metabolic syndrome and cognitive decline. The mechanisms that we will investigate include inflammation, clinical and subclinical cardiovascular disease and sex hormone alterations.
Our aims for this R21 proposal will be addressed as part of the ongoing Health, Aging and Body Composition (Health ABC) Study and the Sacramento Area Latino Study of Aging (SALSA). Our proposal is in response to an RFA from NIDDK to use the R21 mechanism for secondary data analyses of studies related to diabetes and metabolic diseases. This approach will allow for an efficient and systematic approach to exploring the relations among metabolic syndrome, cognitive aging, and hypothesized mediators of cognitive impairment. In addition, we will have the opportunity to investigate the association between metabolic syndrome and cognitive outcomes in three ethnic groups, whites, African-Americans and Mexican- Americans. These ethnic groups have different cardiovascular risk profiles (eg. higher rates of hypertension in African-Americans, higher rates of diabetes in Mexican-Americans) and the association between the metabolic syndrome and its components may therefore differ by ethnicity. In accomplishing these aims, we will determine the contribution of the metabolic syndrome to cognitive aging. The proposed work may help identify preventative strategies for cognitive decline. If elders with metabolic syndrome have increased risk of developing cognitive impairment, this would have important clinical and public health significance. ? ?
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