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O4‐06‐05: MODIFIABLE LIFESTYLE FACTORS, MULTI‐DOMAIN COGNITION AND APOE ε4 IN NON‐DEMENTED OLDER ADULTS
Author(s) -
Robb Catherine,
Udeh-Momoh Chinedu T.,
Wark Petra A.,
Su Bowen,
Middleton Lefkos T.,
Perneczky Robert
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.713
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1552-5279
pISSN - 1552-5260
DOI - 10.1016/j.jalz.2018.06.2943
Subject(s) - cognition , apolipoprotein e , medicine , gerontology , effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance , psychology , clinical psychology , psychiatry , disease
university-level education, including any moderating effect of the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism, a common genetic variant related to learning, memory and brain plasticity. Methods: Participants were healthy older adults (average age 61 years) who completed either a minimum of 12 months of university-level study (N 1⁄4 383) or no university-level education (N 1⁄4 110). Assessment of neuropsychological, health, and psychosocial function was undertaken at baseline, 12-month, and 24-month follow-up. Linear mixed effects models examined the associations of 24-month university-level course load (amount of study) and BDNF Val66Met with rate of cognitive change in multiple cognitive domains. Results: In the final analyzed sample (N 1⁄4 358), education load had a positive association with annual change in language processing performance, although this effect did not reach statistical significance (P 1⁄4 0.064). Importantly, the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism significantly moderated the extent to which course load was associated with improved language processing (P 1⁄4 0.026), with course load having a significant positive relationship with cognitive change in BDNF Met carriers (estimate 1⁄4 0.089; 95% CI 1⁄4 0.018, 0.159) but not in BDNF Val homozygotes (estimate 1⁄4 -0.008; 95% CI 1⁄4 -0.093, 0.077). Conclusions: In older adults who carry BDNF Met, engaging in university-level education improves language processing performance in a course loaddependent manner. Building cognitive capacities such as language processing ability and cognitive reserve may provide resilience to the pathology of diseases that cause dementia.