Increasing Objective Cardiometabolic Burden Associated With Attenuations in the P3b Event-Related Potential Component in Older Adults

Abstract

Cardiometabolic diseases and risk factors increase the risk of late-life cognitive impairment and dementia and have also been associated with detrimental gray and white matter changes. However, the functional brain changes associated with cardiometabolic health in late-life are unclear. We sought to characterize these functional changes by recording event-related potentials (ERPs) during an n-back working memory task (0, 1, and 2 back) in 85 adults (60% female) between 50 and 80 years of age. Due to a stratified recruitment approach, participants varied widely in relation to cognitive function and cardiometabolic health. Standard and objective cutoffs for high blood glucose, waist to hip ratio (i.e., obesity), high blood cholesterol, and hypertension were employed to generate a summative score for cardiometabolic burden (none, one, or two or more above cutoff). Mixed effects modeling (covarying for age and gender) revealed no statistically significant associations between cardiometabolic burden and visual P1 and N1 component amplitudes. There was a significant effect for the P3b component: as cardiometabolic burden increased, P3b amplitude decreased. We show that cardiometabolic factors related to the development of cognitive impairment and dementia in late-life associate with brain activity, as recorded via ERPs. Findings have relevance for the monitoring of lifestyle interventions (typically targeting cardiometabolic factors) in aging, as ERPs may provide a more sensitive measure of change than cognitive performance. Further, our results raise questions related to the findings of a broad range of ERP studies where the groups compared may differ in their cardiometabolic health status (not only in psychological symptomatology).

Obesity and Neurocognitive Performance of Memory, Attention, and Executive Function

“…Additionally, the majority (>90%) of the obese individuals reported cardiometabolic disease comorbidities such as diabetes and hypertension. This finding backs up earlier studies that showed a link between a higher BMI and an increased risk of hypertension and diabetes, with the risk peaking between the ages of 18 and 53 [50]. Previous research found that age and metabolic disorder, both independently and in combination, may increase the risk for cognitive decline in obese individuals, especially in midlife [51].…”

Resting EEG power spectra across middle to late life: associations with age, cognition, APOE-ɛ4 carriage, and cardiometabolic burden

“…Participants were recruited as part of a larger study investigating the neurophysiological and lifestyle changes across mid to late life. Other results using task-based EEG and dietary measures are published elsewhere (Keage et al, 2020;Wade et al, 2020). The study was approved by the University of South Australia Human Ethics Committee (0000034635).…”

Resting EEG power spectra across middle to late life: Associations with age, cognition, APOE-ε4 carriage and cardiometabolic burden

“…These differences, as well as a slowing of alpha peak frequency, were seen in individuals with Alzheimer’s Disease, and to a lesser extent for MCI (Babiloni et al, 2013; Meghdadi et al, 2021; Vecchio et al, 2013). We have also demonstrated that the P3b event-related potential (ERP) component recorded during an n-back memory task is reduced in older adults with increased cardiometabolic burden (Keage et al, 2020). Taken together, this evidence suggests that there are partially overlapping EEG correlates of increased age, cognitive decline and cardiometabolic burden.…”