Association between ambulatory 24-hour blood pressure levels and cognitive performance: a cross-sectional elderly population-based study

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the cross-sectional association between ambulatory 24-h blood pressure levels and cognitive performance while considering the effects of potential confounders among community-dwelling adults aged 65 years and older. METHODS: Based on a cross-sectional design, 1011 subjects (mean age 66.2 +/- 0.8 years; 60.2% women) were recruited prospectively. Average levels of systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were computed for a 24-h period. Cognitive performance was assessed by Folstein's Mini-Mental State Examination, immediate and delay recall subtests of the French version of the Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test, and Trail Making Test A and B. Age at baseline evaluation, gender, education level, anxiety, depression, cardiovascular risk factors, antihypertensive drugs use, and body mass index were used as confounders in data analysis. RESULTS: Multivariate logistic regression showed that, compared with low DBP level (i.e.,