‘Treat aggressively and right away’
The researchers were somewhat surprised by the study findings. Because there is a higher prevalence of CV conditions and risk factors in men, they presumed men would be more affected by these conditions, said Dr. Mielke.
“But that’s not what we saw; we saw the reverse. It was actually the women who were affected more by these cardiovascular risk factors and conditions,” she said.
As midlife is when women enter menopause, fluctuating estrogen levels may help explain the differential impact on cognition among women. But Dr. Mielke said she wants to “move beyond” just looking at hormones.
She pointed out there are a variety of psychosocial factors that may also contribute to an imbalance in the cognitive impact of CV conditions on women.
“Midlife is when many women are still taking care of their children at home, are also taking care of their adult parents, and may be undergoing more stress while continuing to do a job,” Dr. Miekle said.
Structural brain development and genetics may also contribute to the greater effect on cognition in women, the investigators note.
Dr. Mielke stressed that the current study only identifies associations. “The next steps are to understand what some of the underlying mechanisms for this are,” she said.
In the meantime, these new results suggest middle-aged women with high blood pressure, cholesterol, or glucose measures “should be treated aggressively and right away” said Dr. Mielke.
“For example, for women who are just starting to become hypertensive, clinicians should treat them right away and not watch and wait.”
Study limitations cited include that its sample was limited to Olmsted County, Minnesota – so results may not be generalized to other populations. Also, as researchers combined PVD and stroke into one group, larger sample sizes are needed, especially for stroke. Another limitation was the study did not have information on duration of all CV conditions or risk factors.
Helpful for tailoring interventions?
Commenting on the study, Glen R. Finney, MD, director, Memory and Cognition Program, Geisinger Health Clinic, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, said the results are important.
“The more we understand about risk factors for the development of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, the better we understand how we can reduce the risks,” said Dr. Finney, who was not involved with the research.
Awareness that CV conditions are major risk factors in midlife has been “definitely rising,” said Dr. Finney. “Many studies originally were looking at late life and are now looking more at earlier in the disease process, and I think that’s important.”
Understanding how sex, ethnicity, and other demographic variables affect risks can help to “tailor interventions” for individual patients, he said.
The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health, the GHR Foundation, and the Rochester Epidemiology Project. Dr. Mielke is a consultant for Biogen and Brain Protection Company and is on the editorial boards of Neurology and Alzheimer’s and Dementia. Dr. Finney has reported no relevant financial relationships.
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.