- Explain to patients who ask that this study revealed an association between impairment of a specific cognitive domain (executive function) and subsequent 10-year risk of stroke.
- The results were reported at a medical conference and as a published abstract and should be considered preliminary until they have appeared in a peer-reviewed journal.
SAN ANTONIO, July 13 -- Mild impairment of the executive function domain of cognition may represent an early marker of increased stroke risk, according to data from the Framingham Study.
Mildly impaired executive function conferred a stroke hazard ratio of 2.4 compared with normal executive function in the original Framingham cohort, Sudhas Seshadri, M.D., of Boston University reported at the International Society of Vascular Behavioral and Cognitive Disorders meeting here.
An even greater effect was seen in the Framingham Offspring cohort, as mildly impaired executive function increased the relative risk of stroke almost five-fold, the investigators added
Mild impairment in the verbal memory or amnestic domain of cognitive function was associated with an increased risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease in the original Framingham cohort but not stroke.
