Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2008;31(2):115-21.
doi: 10.1159/000148257. Epub 2008 Jul 31.

The association between heart rate variability and cognitive impairment in middle-aged men and women. The Whitehall II cohort study

Annie Britton  1 , Archana Singh-Manoux, Katerina Hnatkova, Marek Malik, Michael G Marmot, Martin Shipley
Affiliations
Comparative Study

The association between heart rate variability and cognitive impairment in middle-aged men and women. The Whitehall II cohort study

Annie Britton et al. Neuroepidemiology. 2008.

Abstract

Background: To examine the relationship between reduced heart rate variability (HRV) and cognitive function in middle-aged adults in the general population.

Methods: HRV, in both time and frequency domains, and cognitive functioning were measured twice in 5,375 male and female participants of the UK Whitehall II study (mean ages = 55 and 61 years, respectively). Logistic regression was used to model associations between HRV and cognition [short-term verbal memory, reasoning (Alice Heim 4-I), vocabulary, phonemic and semantic fluency]. Cross-sectional associations were assessed at both waves, and longitudinal associations were measured as changes in cognition over the 5-year follow-up.

Results: No consistent associations were found in men or women, either in the cross-sectional, prospective or the longitudinal analyses of declines in cognition.

Conclusion: Reduced cardiovascular autonomic function does not contribute to cognitive impairment in this middle-aged population. Further studies are needed to verify the potential role of HRV measures in predicting the degeneration of cognitive function at older ages.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Morris JC, Storandt M, Miller JP, McKeel DW, Price JL, Rubin EH, et al. Mild cognitive impairment represents early-stage Alzheimer disease. Arch Neurol. 2001;58:397–405. - PubMed
    1. Chertkow H. Mild cognitive impairment. Curr Opin Neurol. 2002;15:401–407. - PubMed
    1. Fried LP, Kronmal RA, Newman AB, et al. Risk factors for 5-year mortality in older adults. JAMA. 1998;279:585–592. - PubMed
    1. Bassuk SS, Wyppij D, Berkman LF. Cognitive impairment and mortality in the community-dwelling elderly. Am J Epidemiol. 2000;151:676–688. - PubMed
    1. Kuh D, Richards M, Hardy R, et al. Childhood cognitive ability and deaths up until middle age: a post-war birth cohort study. Int J Epidemiol. 2004;33:408–413. - PubMed

Publication types