Open AccessGlobal-cognitive health metrics: A novel approach for assessing cognition impairment in adult population
Author(s) -
ChiaKuang Tsai,
TungWei Kao,
JiunnTay Lee,
ChungChing Wang,
Chung-Hsing Chou,
ChihSung Liang,
FuChi Yang,
WeiLiang Chen
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0197691
Subject(s) - dementia , cognition , glycated hemoglobin , medicine , cognitive test , digit symbol substitution test , effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance , gerontology , clinical psychology , psychology , psychiatry , diabetes mellitus , type 2 diabetes , disease , pathology , placebo , alternative medicine , endocrinology
Dementia is the supreme worldwide burden for welfare and the health care system in the 21st century. The early identification and control of the modifiable risk factors of dementia are important. Global-cognitive health (GCH) metrics, encompassing controllable cardiovascular health (CVH) and non-CVH risk factors of dementia, is a newly developed approach to assess the risk of cognitive impairment. The components of ideal GCH metrics includes better education, non-obesity, normal blood pressure, no smoking, no depression, ideal physical activity, good social integration, normal glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), and normal hearing. This study focuses on the association between ideal GCH metrics and the cognitive function in young adults by investigating the Third Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) database, which has not been reported previously. A total of 1243 participants aged 17 to 39 years were recruited in this study. Cognitive functioning was evaluated by the simple reaction time test (SRTT), symbol-digit substitution test (SDST), and serial digit learning test (SDLT). Participants with significantly higher scores of GCH metrics had better cognitive performance (p for trend <0.01 in three cognitive tests). Moreover, better education, ideal physical activity, good social integration and normal glycated hemoglobin were the optimistic components of ideal GCH metrics associated with better cognitive performance after adjusting for covariates (p < 0.05 in three cognitive tests). These findings emphasize the importance of a preventive strategy for modifiable dementia risk factors to enhance cognitive functioning during adulthood.