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Comparative Study
. 2009;32(2):122-8.
doi: 10.1159/000182819. Epub 2008 Dec 16.

A population-based study of the association between Trypanosoma cruzi infection and cognitive impairment in old age (the Bambuí Study)

M Fernanda Lima-Costa  1 , Erico Castro-Costa, Elizabeth Uchôa, Joselia Firmo, Antonio Luiz P Ribeiro, Cleusa P Ferri, Martin Prince
Affiliations
Comparative Study

A population-based study of the association between Trypanosoma cruzi infection and cognitive impairment in old age (the Bambuí Study)

M Fernanda Lima-Costa et al. Neuroepidemiology. 2009.

Abstract

Background: Limited clinical data suggest that chronic Trypanosoma cruzi infection, which causes Chagas' disease (ChD), is associated with cognitive impairment. This study investigated this association in a large population-based sample of older adults.

Methods: Participants in this cross-sectional study comprised 1,449 persons aged > or = 60 years from a Brazilian endemic area (Bambuí). Cognitive functioning was ascertained by the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), considering its score in percentiles [< or =14 (<5th percentile), 15-22 (5th to <25th) and > or =23]. Hypothesized risk factors were T. cruzi infection, ChD-related electrocardiographic (ECG) abnormalities and use of digoxin medication. Potential confounders included depressive symptoms, smoking, stroke, hemoglobin, HDL cholesterol, blood glucose, systolic blood pressure, and use of psychoactive medication.

Results: The prevalence of T. cruzi infection was 37.6%. There was a graded and independent association between infection and the MMSE score (adjusted odds ratios estimated by ordinal logistic regression = 1.99; 95% CI 1.43-2.76). No significant associations between the MMSE score and ECG abnormalities or digoxin medication use were found.

Conclusions: This study provides for the first time epidemiological evidence of an association between T. cruzi infection and cognitive impairment which was not mediated by either ChD-related ECG abnormalities or digoxin medication use.

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References

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