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
. 2014 Oct;9 Suppl A100(0 0):48-54.
doi: 10.1111/ijs.12275. Epub 2014 Apr 30.

Cognitive performance after stroke--the Framingham Heart Study

Affiliations

Cognitive performance after stroke--the Framingham Heart Study

Galit Weinstein et al. Int J Stroke. 2014 Oct.

Abstract

Background: Individuals with a high risk of stroke are also more prone to cognitive impairment perhaps because of concomitant vascular risk factors. In addition, clinical stroke increases the risk of subsequent dementia. Nevertheless, the relationship between clinical stroke and subsequent cognitive function in initially nondemented individuals remains less clear as most prior studies examined case series without controls.

Aims: To specify among nondemented individuals the cognitive domains affected by clinical stroke, independently of vascular risk factors and prestroke cognition.

Methods: One hundred thirty-two Framingham study participants (mean age = 77 ± 9 years, 54% women) with prospectively validated initial strokes, as well as age- and gender-matched controls, underwent identical cognitive evaluations ∼six-months after the stroke. Linear regression models were used to assess the differences in cognitive scores between stroke cases and controls adjusting for prestroke cognitive function as assessed by Mini-Mental State Examination scores, and with and without adjustment for vascular risk factors.

Results: Adjusting for prestroke cognition and vascular risk factors, persons with stroke had poorer cognitive function in the domains of immediate recall of logical and visual memories (β = -1·27 ± 0·60, P = 0·035; β = -1·03 ± 0·47, P = 0·028, respectively), verbal learning (paired associate test; β = -1·31 ± 0·57, P = 0·023), language (Boston naming test; β = -0·27 ± 0·08, P = 0·002), executive function (digit span backward; β = -0·53 ± 0·21, P = 0·015), and visuospatial and motor skills (block design; β = -3·02 ± 1·06, P = 0·005).

Conclusions: Clinical stroke is associated with subsequent poorer performance in multiple cognitive domains. This association cannot be entirely explained by the individual's cognitive function prior to stroke or by concomitant vascular risk factor levels.

Keywords: cerebrovascular disease; cognitive function; neuropsychology matched cohort study; stroke-related outcomes; vascular risk factors.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Study group composition.

References

    1. Gorelick PB, Scuteri A, Black SE, et al. Vascular contributions to cognitive impairment and dementia: a statement for healthcare professionals from the american heart association/american stroke association. Stroke. 2011;42:2672–713. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Gorelick PB. Risk factors for vascular dementia and Alzheimer disease. Stroke. 2004;35:2620–2. - PubMed
    1. Elias MF, Sullivan LM, D’Agostino RB, et al. Framingham stroke risk profile and lowered cognitive performance. Stroke. 2004;35:404–9. - PubMed
    1. Ivan CS, Seshadri S, Beiser A, et al. Dementia after stroke: the Framingham Study. Stroke. 2004;35:1264–8. - PubMed
    1. Savva GM, Stephan BC. Epidemiological studies of the effect of stroke on incident dementia: a systematic review. Stroke. 2010;41:e41–6. - PubMed

Publication types