Relations of Pulse Wave Velocity and Sociodemographic Variables to Cognitive Functioning in Urban Dwelling African American and White Adults
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Date
2020-01-20
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Department
Psychology
Program
Psychology
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Distribution Rights granted to UMBC by the author.
This item may be protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. It is made available by UMBC for non-commercial research and education. For permission to publish or reproduce, please see http://aok.lib.umbc.edu/specoll/repro.php or contact Special Collections at speccoll(at)umbc.edu
This item may be protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. It is made available by UMBC for non-commercial research and education. For permission to publish or reproduce, please see http://aok.lib.umbc.edu/specoll/repro.php or contact Special Collections at speccoll(at)umbc.edu
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Abstract
Arterial stiffness, or the physical hardening of the central large arteries, is a prevalent type of subclinical vascular disease that is predictive of incident systolic hypertension, coronary heart disease, stroke, and heart failure, all of which are leading causes of mortality in the developed world. Greater pulse wave velocity (PWV) is an indicator of greater arterial stiffness as the elastic properties of the arterial walls deteriorate. Prior cross-sectional and longitudinal investigations have demonstrated significant relations of greater PWV with lower levels of cognitive function and increased cognitive decline. However, to our knowledge, there are no prior studies examining relations of PWV to cognitive function using a comprehensive neuropsychological battery within a diverse sample of urban-dwelling adults that includes traditionally vulnerable and disenfranchised persons. Furthermore, much of the research linking PWV and cognitive function includes adjustments for basic demographic variables such as race and socioeconomic status but does not examine these variables as potential effect modifiers. The purpose of the present study sought to compute and examine the relations of PWV, race, and poverty status on various cognitive outcomes, and to examine whether these associations withstood adjustments for cardio-metabolic risk factors and depression symptomatology. Analysis revealed a significant PWV, race, and poverty status interaction on the Brief Test of Attention (BTA) such that amongst whites living in poverty, higher BTA scores were observed in the presence of higher PWV. Furthermore, there were two significant PWV and poverty status interactions on the cognitive domains of California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT) delayed Recall and Verbal Fluency. In these interactions, higher cognitive outcomes were seen in those living in poverty in the presence of higher PWV. These results are in direct conflict with much of the previous literature. This was the first study, to our knowledge, that examined the interactive associations of PWV, race, and poverty status on a comprehensive neuropsychological battery and examined these interactions within a biopsychosocial framework. In light of these findings, it is possible that those living in poverty are able to utilize particular resilience strategies that enable quick and efficient adaptive set shifting in order to survive in unpredictable environments. Furthermore, these results raise the possibility of non-linear associations of PWV and cognition given the mean age and overall range of PWV observed in the sample.