Orthostatic Hypotension Predicts Cognitive Impairment in the Elderly: Findings from a Cohort Study

BACKGROUND: Orthostatic hypotension (OH) is a known risk factor for cerebral ischemia, but its correlation with cognitive impairment (CI) is not well established. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to explore the relationship between OH and CI in the elderly. METHODS: The study group consisted of 44 OH patients who presented with drowsiness, vertigo, and fatigue between January 2009 and December 2011 (OH group). Eighty-eight healthy elderly were paired with those in the OH group in a 1:2 based on their education levels (NOH group). Baseline sociodemographic information and cognition-related measures were collected for both groups. Cognitive function was assessed 4 years later using MMSE. RESULTS: The overall incidence of CI was 14.0% among the 114 subjects who completed the follow-up assessment. There was a significant difference in the incidence of CI between the OH group (23.7%) and the NOH group (9.2%) (χ(2) = 4.399, P = 0.036). After excluding the influence of age (OR = 1.199, 95% CI: 1.072–1.340, P = 0.001) and education years (OR = 0.568, 95% CI: 0.371–0.869, P = 0.009), OH (OR = 4.047, 95% CI: 1.144–14.313, P = 0.030) became an independent risk factor for CI. CONCLUSION: OH can lead to CI. We suggest that future studies, with a larger sample size, use OH exposure time instead of OH exposure population to verify the conclusion of this study.