1. Relationships among blood pressure, triglycerides and verbal learning in African Americans.
- Author
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Sims RC, Madhere S, Gordon S, Clark E Jr, Abayomi KA, Callender CO, and Campbell AL Jr
- Subjects
- Adult, Aged, Female, Humans, Hypertension epidemiology, Male, Middle Aged, United States epidemiology, Black or African American, Blood Pressure, Triglycerides blood, Verbal Learning
- Abstract
Background: Individuals at greater risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) display poorer cognitive functioning across various cognitive domains. This finding is particularly prevalent among older adults; however, few studies examine these relationships among younger adults or among African Americans., Purpose: The objective was to examine the relationships among 2 cardiovascular risk factors, elevated blood pressure and elevated triglycerides, and verbal learning in a community-based sample of African Americans., Methods: Measurements of blood pressure and triglycerides were obtained in 121 African-American adults and compared to performance on 3 domains of the California Verbal Learning Test-II (CVLT-II)., Results: Blood pressure was not related to CVLT-II performance. Triglyceride levels were inversely related to CVLT-II performance. Higher triglyceride levels were associated with poorer immediate, short delay and long delay recall., Conclusions: Consistent with studies involving older participants, the current investigation shows that in a nonelderly sample of African Americans, triglyceride levels may be related to cognitive functioning. Because early detection and intervention of vascular-related cognitive impairment may have a salutary effect, future studies should include younger adults to highlight the impact of cardiovascular risk on cognition.
- Published
- 2008
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