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Blood Pressure and Cognitive Function in an African-American and a Caucasian-American Sample: The Maine-Syracuse Study

From the Department of Psychology, University of Maine, Orono, ME (M.A.R., M.F.E., P.K.E.); Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Boston University, Boston, MA (M.F.E.); Department of Geriatric Medicine, Australian National University Medical School, Canberra, Australia (M.M.B.).

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Michael A. Robbins, Department of Psychology, 5742 Little Hall, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469-5742. E-mail: mar{at}umit.maine.edu

Objective: The primary purpose of this study was to examine associations between indices of blood pressure (BP) and cognitive function for African-American participants in the Maine-Syracuse Longitudinal Study (MSLS). Corresponding data for the Caucasian-American MSLS participants were included to provide a basis for comparison. Interactions of age with BP indices were also assessed in relation to cognitive function.

Methods: Data were drawn from the baseline MSLS questionnaires, medical interviews and examinations, Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale subtests, and measurements of BP for 1563 participants, of whom 147 were African American. Multiple linear regression analyses were employed to examine the relationship between several BP predictors and cognitive outcomes with statistical adjustment for demographic, psychosocial, and cardiovascular risk factors.

Results: Significant inverse associations between BP indices and cognitive performance were obtained for both racial cohorts but were generally of higher magnitude for the African-American cohort. Interactions of BP with age were not obtained for any of the cognitive test scores.

Conclusions: Elevations in BP are associated with poorer cognitive function for African-American and Caucasian-American cohorts. These associations are similar for younger and older participants.

Key Words: African American • blood pressure • hypertension • cognitive function

Abbreviations: BP = blood pressure; MSLS = Maine-Syracuse Longitudinal Study; WAIS = Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale; SBP = systolic blood pressure; DBP = diastolic blood pressure.

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