Atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with increased odds of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia among women versus men, according to a study published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia to coincide the annual meeting of the Association of Cardiovascular Nursing & Allied Professions. Whitney Wharton, PhD, and colleagues examined sex differences between AF and neuropsychological tests and cognitive disease progression using data from 43,630 participants. AF is associated with increased odds of dementia and MCI in women versus men (ORs, 3.00 and 3.43, respectively). Compared with men with AF or men and women without AF, women with AF and normal baseline cognition had a higher risk for disease progression from normal to MCI (HR, 1.26) and from MCI to vascular dementia (HR, 3.27). “Establishing ways to identify patients with [AF] at the highest risk for cognitive decline and stroke will inform future interventions to prevent or slow the progression to cognitive impairment and dementia,” a coauthor said in a statement.
