Table 7.
Associations between blood cholesterol levels and cognitive domain scores, in the Health and Retirement Study, European ancestry sample (n = 8781)a.
| High density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) | Total cholesterol (TC) | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | Linear regression | Wald-type/ratio | P for heterogeneityb | N | Linear regression | Wald-type/ratio | P for heterogeneity | ||||||
| β coefficient (95% CI) | β coefficient (95% CI) | β coefficient (95% CI) | β coefficient (95% CI) | ||||||||||
| Total cognition score (0–35) | Crude | 5,270 | −0.61 | (−0.87, −0.35) | −0.38 | (−0.82, 0.06) | 0.19 | 5,924 | 0.45 | (0.12, 0.79) | 0.23 | (−0.84, 1.29) | 0.75 |
| Adjustedc | 5,270 | −0.26 | (−0.49, −0.03) | −0.26 | (−0.67, 0.14) | 0.18 | 5,924 | −0.20 | (−0.50, 0.10) | 0.20 | (−0.59, 1.00) | 0.52 | |
| Episodic memory | |||||||||||||
| Immediate word recall | Crude | 7,869 | −0.21 | (−0.28, −0.13) | −0.10 | (−0.23, 0.02) | 0.26 | 8,775 | 0.18 | (0.09, 0.27) | 0.04 | (−0.27, 0.35) | 0.93 |
| Adjusted | 7,869 | −0.10 | (−0.16, −0.03) | −0.10 | (−0.21, 0.02) | 0.11 | 8,775 | −0.08 | (−0.16, 0.00) | 0.05 | (−0.18, 0.28) | 0.57 | |
| Delayed word recall | Crude | 7,869 | −0.25 | (−0.34, −0.16) | −0.11 | (−0.26, 0.04) | 0.49 | 8,775 | 0.29 | (0.18, 0.40) | −0.05 | (−0.42, 0.32) | 0.63 |
| Adjusted | 7,869 | −0.13 | (−0.21, −0.05) | −0.13 | (−0.27, 0.01) | 0.17 | 8,775 | −0.01 | (−0.11, 0.09) | 0.06 | (−0.22, 0.34) | 0.64 | |
| Mental status | |||||||||||||
| Serial 7 subtraction | Crude | 7,869 | −0.13 | (−0.20, −0.06) | −0.05 | (−0.17, 0.07) | 0.68 | 8,775 | −0.11 | (−0.19, −0.02) | 0.08 | (−0.21, 0.38) | 0.53 |
| Adjusted | 7,869 | −0.01 | (−0.08, 0.05) | 0.03 | (−0.09, 0.15) | 0.87 | 8,775 | −0.09 | (−0.18, −0.01) | 0.06 | (−0.17, 0.29) | 0.66 | |
| Backward count from 20 | Crude | 7,869 | 0.00 | (−0.02, 0.02) | 0.00 | (−0.04, 0.03) | 0.76 | 8,775 | 0.01 | (−0.01, 0.03) | 0.03 | (−0.05, 0.10) | 0.52 |
| Adjusted | 7,869 | 0.01 | (−0.01, 0.03) | 0.00 | (−0.04, 0.03) | 0.70 | 8,775 | 0.00 | (−0.02, 0.02) | 0.03 | (−0.03, 0.09) | 0.46 | |
| Vocabulary | |||||||||||||
| Vocabulary summary score | Crude | 2,714 | −0.08 | (−0.23, 0.07) | −0.20 | (−0.45, 0.05) | 0.08 | 3,166 | 0.03 | (−0.16, 0.22) | 0.09 | (−0.52, 0.70) | 0.78 |
| Adjusted | 2,714 | 0.07 | (−0.07, 0.21) | −0.08 | (−0.31, 0.16) | 0.28 | 3,166 | −0.09 | (−0.27, 0.09) | −0.07 | (−0.54, 0.40) | 0.96 | |
BMI, Body Mass Index; CI: Confidence Interval; CIND: Cognitive Impairment-Non Dementia; OR: Odds Ratio.
All variables were measured at the first instance of biomarker collection for a participant from Health and Retirement Study waves 2006–2012. All values were based on results from linear regression and Mendelian randomization analyses in each sample.
P-value represents the statistical significance of the test of heterogeneity between linear regression and Mendelian randomization.
Adjusted for age, sex, years of education, lipid-lowering medication, cholesterol measurement wave, and five ancestry-specific principal components.