Carotid flow velocities and blood pressures are independently associated with cognitive function

[[abstract]]Background: Few studies simultaneously addressed associations between carotid flow velocities, blood pressure (BP), and cognitive function. Materials and methods: Subject without dementia (n=1684) underwent measurements of BP and biochemical markers. Mental State Examination (MMSE) and comprehensive neuropsychological tests were used to evaluate cognitive function. Peak systolic velocity (PSV) and end-diastolic velocity (EDV) were measured in common and internal carotid artery. Subjects with Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) </= 24 (25 th percentile) was defined as low MMSE. Multivariable linear and logistic regression were used to evaluate the relationship of cognitive function with carotid flow velocities and BP. Results: Carotid flow velocities (PSV [Standardized beta=0.067, p=0.0009] and EDV [Standardized beta=0.067, p=0.0021]) and systolic blood pressure (Standardized beta = -0.061, p=0.005) were positively and negatively associated with MMSE, respectively, in the model with adjusting for age, sex, educational attainment, nutritional status, and smoking. Similar trends were noted for the associations between flow velocities and different neuropsychological tests. Conclusion: Both low carotid flow velocity and high BP were independently and comparably associated with cognitive dysfunction