Study Revealed Early Cognitive Decline Linked to Poor Heart Health in Black Women, Starting in Their 30s

Researchers found that cognitive decline, especially in how quickly people process information, can start as early as your 30s, particularly affecting Black women who have poorer heart health.

Cognitive decline can progress for decades before the onset of dementia, share researchers of a study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

While better cardiovascular health (CVH) has been associated with less cognitive decline, it remains unclear whether this relationship begins early, affects all racial subgroups equally and impacts all cognitive domains the same.

To examine the impact of CVH on cognitive decline among White and Black women at midlife, researchers at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago conducted the study.

While most studies use a global cognitive index to evaluate cognitive decline, which makes it difficult to find patterns in different cognitive domains, this study focused on processing speed and working memory, as they are among the first cognitive functions to decline with aging.

Researchers studied 363 Black and 402 White women, ages 43 to 49, from 1997 to 2017 at the Chicago site of the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN).

SWAN, a multiracial study of women transitioning through menopause, has conducted annual interviews since 1996-1997.

This study recruited 857 participants with a 72% participation rate. Cognitive function was assessed annually or biennially over up to 20 years and CVH was measured using Life's Essential 8.

It was found that White women had slightly more education than Black women (15.9 vs. 15.5 years) and cognitive scores were higher for White women, with a difference of 4.4 points for processing speed and 0.8 points for working memory.

CVH was generally worse for Black women, except in diet, tobacco use and non-high-density lipoprotein levels. Participants were followed for about 10 years.

Overall, CVH scores were lower for Black women but varied similarly by race.

The study had many strong points, including its large sample size with Black and White middle-aged women. There was no significant age difference between the racial groups, making the findings more comparable.

The study followed participants for up to 20 years, giving a detailed look at how cognitive decline and heart health change over time.

However, there are some limitations.

The study relied on self-reported data for some heart health metrics, like diet and exercise, which can lead to recall bias and errors.

Excluding patients with missing data or certain health conditions could limit how significant the findings are to a broader population.

Lastly, since the study focused only on middle-aged women, the results may not apply to other groups.