Association between Cognitive function and metabolic syndrome using Montreal Cognitive Assessment Test.

Background and Purpose: The increased risk for cognitive defects in individuals affected by
metabolic syndrome especially in those patients with cardiovascular disorders is now claimed.
We aimed to assess the relationship between cognitive performance and the various components
of metabolic syndrome.
Methods: One hundred and eighteen consecutive individuals aged 30 to 86 years were included
into this cross-sectional survey. The metabolic syndrome and its definitive components were
defined according to the definition described in the Framingham Heart Study by NCEP ATP III
criteria. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA) questionnaire was employed to cognitive
screening.
Results: Those patients with metabolic syndrome had significantly lower mean MOCA score
compare to the group without metabolic syndrome (19.11 ± 5.49 versus 21.28 ± 4.56, p =
0.021). Among all cognition sub domains, the mean attention score was significantly lower in
the group with metabolic syndrome than in another group. In a multivariate linear regression
model adjusting sex and age variables showed that the presence of metabolic syndrome could
effectively predict cognitive impairment (beta = -2.202, SE = -0.214, p = 0.013).
Conclusion: The presence of metabolic syndrome can be mainly related to damaging cognition
especially impairing the power of attention.