Both Low and High 24-Hour Diastolic Blood Pressure Are Associated With Worse Cognitive Performance in Type 2 Diabetes: The Maastricht Study

Hypertension and diabetes are both risk factors for cognitive decline, and individuals with both might have an especially high risk. We therefore examined linear and nonlinear (quadratic) associations of 24-h blood pressure (BP) with cognitive performance in participants with and without type 2 diabetes. We also tested the association of nocturnal dipping status with cognitive performance. This study was performed as part of the Maastricht Study, an ongoing population-based cohort study. Cross-sectional associations of 24-h BP (n = 713, of whom 201 had type 2 diabetes) and nocturnal dipping status (n = 686, of whom 196 had type 2 diabetes) with performance on tests for global cognitive functioning, information processing speed, verbal memory (immediate and delayed word recall), and response inhibition were tested using linear regression analysis and adjusted for demographics, vascular risk factors, cardiovascular disease, depression, and lipid-modifying and antihypertensive medication use. After full adjustment, we found quadratic (inverted U-shaped) associations of 24-h diastolic blood pressure (DBP) with information processing speed (b for quadratic term = -0.0267, P < 0.01) and memory (immediate word recall: b = -0.0180, P < 0.05; delayed word recall: b = -0.0076, P < 0.01) in participants with diabetes, but not in those without. No clear pattern was found for dipping status. This study shows that both low and high 24-h DBP are associated with poorer performance on tests of information processing speed and memory in individuals with type 2 diabetes.