Life's Essential 8, genetic susceptibility, and risk of cognitive impairment: results from an elder population-based cohort study

Introduction: The American Heart Association's Life's Essential 8 (LE8) framework has been linked to cognitive impairment, but evidence in Chinese older adults remains limited. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 7469 adults aged ≥60 years from the West China Health and Aging Cohort. Modified Poisson regression with robust error variance was used to examine the associations of LE8 scores and genetic risk, as well as their joint associations, with cognitive impairment. Results: Compared with the low LE8 score group, the high LE8 score group had a prevalence ratio (PR) of 0.65 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.56 to 0.76) for cognitive impairment. A joint association was observed between LE8 and genetic risk, with the highest PR of 1.19 (95% CI: 1.12 to 1.27) in the low LE8 and high-genetic-risk group. Discussion: Optimal cardiovascular health was associated with lower cognitive impairment and attenuation of genetic risks among older adults in western China.