Objective To explore the effect of fasting blood glucose on cognitive function in patients with asymptomatic carotid atherosclerotic plaque.
Methods Participants aged ≥40 years who participated in the China National Stroke Screen Survey (CNSSS) program between September 2015 to September 2017, from two rural communities (Beiqijia community, Changping District, Beijing and Konggang community, Shunyi District, Beijing), were enrolled in this study. The included patients had carotid atherosclerotic plaques confirmed by carotid ultrasound, yet no cerebrovascular diseases and neurological deficits. Cognitive function was evaluated by the Montreal cognitive assessment (Beijing version). The multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to determine the association between fasting blood glucose and cognitive impairment (MoCA<26 points).
Results Finally, a total of 1446 subjects were included in this study, with a mean age of 62.0±8.3 years and 809 males (55.9%). 1364 (94.3%) had an education level of no more than 12 years, and 936 (64.7%) had cognitive impairment. Univariate logistic regression analysis showed that fasting blood glucose was associated with cognitive impairment (Ptrend=0.003). After adjusting for the confounding factors, fasting blood glucose was still an independent risk factor for cognitive impairment (Ptrend=0.008). The patients with the highest quartile of fasting blood glucose had an increased risk of cognitive impairment by 0.49 times, compared to patients with the lowest quartile (OR 1.49, 95%CI 1.10-2.02, P=0.010).
Conclusions High fasting blood glucose was an independent risk factor for cognitive impairment in patients with asymptomatic carotid atherosclerotic plaque.