Composite Cardiovascular Risk Scores and Neuropsychological Functioning: A Meta-Analytic Review

Background: The ability for patients to understand their risk for disease is important to early intervention and effective treatment. The link between individual cardiovascular risk factors and cognition has been well-established.Purpose: This study investigated the relationship between cognition and a combination of these factors through a single composite risk score.Methods: This study quantitatively summarized the strength of the association between composite cardiovascular risk scores and cognitive test performance using meta-analytic methods.Results: One hundred and nine effect sizes were obtained from 19 studies employing 54,564 participants. Composite risk scores showed a significant association (r = −0.16) with cognitive test performance. Cognitive domain and age did not significantly modify this relationship.Conclusions: Composite cardiovascular risk scores can be useful indicators of future cognition. The development of a dementia risk score using similar risk factors could aid in the assessment and lifestyle interventions of persons at risk for dementia.