Affiliations: [a] Nutritional Physiology Research Centre, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia | [b] Department of Psychology and Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Maine, Orono, ME, USA | [c] School of Psychology, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia | [d] Department of Geriatrics, Center for Aging Brain, Memory Unit, University of Bari, Bari, Italy
Correspondence:
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Correspondence to: Georgina E. Crichton, Nutritional Physiology Research Centre, University of South Australia, GPO Box 2471, Adelaide, South Australia 5001, Australia. Tel.: +61 8 83021452; Fax: +61 8 83022178; E-mail: [email protected].
Abstract: Obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and insulin resistance have been associated with an increased risk of cognitive impairment or dementia. Together, these risk factors cluster as metabolic syndrome (MetS). The first aim of this systematic review was to identify and critically review studies assessing associations between MetS and cognition, with consideration given both to early cognitive changes and the severe endpoint of dementia. The second aim was to identify and discuss limitations in the literature and subsequent difficulties in drawing conclusions from research to date. Nine studies that assessed cognitive performance and ten studies that estimated incidence of dementia in relation to MetS were identified and appraised. Limitations in the literature include the lack of standardized nomenclature for cognitive variables, the use of multiple MetS definitions, and the difficulty in differentiating the adverse effects of multiple risk factors on cognition.
