Parkinson disease (PD) and cardiovascular risk factors are independent risk factors for cognitive impairment, according to a recent study. Generally, the influence of cardiovascular risk factors on cognition is similar in PD patients and control. Researchers evaluated a sample that included 67 PD patients and 61 older controls (total n=128). Participants completed neuropsychological measures of executive functioning, processing speed, verbal delayed recall/memory, language, and auditory attention. Cardiovascular risk was assessed with the Framingham Cardiovascular Risk index. They found:

• Hierarchical regressions revealed that more severe cardiovascular risk was related to worse executive functioning, processing speed, and delayed verbal recall in both Parkinson patients and controls.
• More severe cardiovascular risk was related to worse language functioning in the PD group, but not controls.
• In contrast, leukoaraiosis related to both cardiovascular risk and executive functioning for controls, but not the PD group.