Effect of Carotid Artery Morphological Variations on Cognitive Function

BACKGROUND: Carotid artery morphological variations (CAMV) are common variations on medical imaging; the effects of CAMV on cognition were still unknown. This study is aimed at investigating whether carotid artery morphological variations (CAMV) cause cognitive impairment. METHODS: Hospitalized patients from March 2017 to October 2017 who underwent digital subtract angiography (DSA) were divided into non-CAMV group, T-type group, K-type group, and C-type group according to their carotid artery morphology. Cognitive function in each group was evaluated with the Mini-Mental State Scale (MMSE), the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), the Verbal Fluency Test (VFT), and the Digital Span Test (DST). RESULTS: A total of 96 patients were included in the study (32 in non-CAMV group, 34 in T-type group, 30 in K-type group, and none in C-group). The positive rate of MMSE in the non-CAMV group, the T-type group, and the K-type group was 15.6%, 14.7%, and 20.0%, respectively, with no statistical difference in the three groups (p = 0.836). The positive rate of MoCA in the K-type group was significantly higher than that in the non-CAMV and the T-type groups (p < 0.001), but there was no significant difference between the non-CAMV group and the T-type group (p = 0.826). The VFT, DST forward score, and backward score in the K-type group were significantly lower than those in the non-CAMV and the T-type groups (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: K-type CAMV may cause cognitive impairment, and MoCA is superior to MMSE in identifying mild cognitive impairment caused by CAMV.