Prevalence of mild cognitive impairment is higher in hypertensive population: a cross-sectional study in less developed northwest China

Uncertainty remains about the association of hypertension with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in less-developed areas. This is a cross-sectional survey conducted in Xinjiang, a less-developed region in China between April and October 2019. We used multi-stage stratified sampling method to obtain study population aged ≥45 years, and we analyzed complete data for 3282 subjects. The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) was used to assess cognitive function. MCI is defined as an MMSE score < 17 for illiterate subjects, <20 for subjects with 1 to 6 years of education, and <24 for subjects with ≥7 years of education. The prevalence of MCI was significantly higher in hypertensive subjects than in non-hypertensive subjects (22.1% vs 16.1%, P < .001) and higher in hypertensives with uncontrolled blood pressure (BP) than in those with controlled BP (27.5% vs 20.7%, P = .01). Hypertensive subjects had significantly lower each item score and total score of MMSE, compared to non-hypertensive subjects. Significant negative correlations were observed between systolic and diastolic BP with MMSE scores (P for all <.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that hypertension was the significant risk factor for the presence of MCI (OR = 1.62, 95%CI: 1.34, 2.35, P < .001), independent of such factors as gender, age, education attainment, and dyslipidemia. The prevalence of MCI is higher in hypertensive population, and hypertension is an independent risk factor for MCI in less-developed region, suggesting that hypertensives should be screened for MCI to provide improved diagnoses and optimal therapeutics for cognitive decline prevention, specially in settings with approximate conditions.