MONDAY, June 5, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Incident myocardial infarction (MI) is not associated with a decrease in global cognition, memory, or executive function but is associated with faster declines in these measures over time, according to a study published online May 30 in JAMA Neurology.

Michelle C. Johansen, M.D., Ph.D., from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, and colleagues examined whether incident MI is associated with changes in cognitive function after adjustment for pre-MI cognitive trajectories using data from six U.S. cohort studies involving 30,465 adults. Of the participants, 1,033 had one or more MI event and 29,432 did not. Participants were followed for a median of 6.4 years.

The researchers found that incident MI was not associated with a decrease in global cognition, executive function, or memory overall. However, those with versus without incident MI had faster declines in global cognition, memory, and executive function (−0.15, −0.13, and −0.14 points per year, respectively) over the years after MI versus pre-MI slopes. The degree of change in the decline in global cognition after MI was modified by race and sex, with a smaller change in the decline over the years after MI in Black individuals versus White individuals and in women versus men (difference in slope change, 0.22 and 0.12 points per year, respectively).

“Our results may have important public health implications,” the authors write. “Discussion of the potential cognitive ramifications of MI should be considered as a potential motivator when counseling patients at risk for MI.”

One author disclosed ties to Johnson & Johnson, and various authors reported grant funding outside of the submitted work.

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