Dear Francesca,

There is sufficient evidence in medicine, neurosciences and psychology, linking diseases of affluence with cognitive impairment or even mental disorders. There is a long list of known risk factors: metabolic syndrome with hypertension, lipometabolic disorders, hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, obesity or adiposity, diabetes mellitus, atherosclerosis, cardiovascular disease, etc. There are complex reciprocal relationships between all these factors or diseases that can lead to deficiency of the cerebral vessels and thus to functional failures or malfunctions.

There is a vast experimental and observational literature in psychology and neuroscience linking elevations in various vascular risk factors with impaired cognitive performance. Such factors studied include, but are not limited to elevations in blood pressure (even subclinical), diagnosed hypertension (even when treated), diabetes and subclincially elevated blood glucose, metabolic syndrome, hypothyroidism, and obesity. One possibility is that such factors may induce atherosclerosis, which in turn may reduce cerebral perfusion, and thereby impair neurocognitive function.

Well, there is vascular dementia, which obviously affects cognition

I agree with the two answers given above. You should also consider that many cardiovascular events, such as strokes and heart attacks are an unexpected, life threatening experience, likely to leave survivors with long term disability. The link between the vascular problem and the psychological outcome can be mediated by these factors as well.

Neurovascular disease certainly predisposes one to higher risk of developing depression.

Dear Francesca,

There is sufficient evidence in medicine, neurosciences and psychology, linking diseases of affluence with cognitive impairment or even mental disorders. There is a long list of known risk factors: metabolic syndrome with hypertension, lipometabolic disorders, hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, obesity or adiposity, diabetes mellitus, atherosclerosis, cardiovascular disease, etc. There are complex reciprocal relationships between all these factors or diseases that can lead to deficiency of the cerebral vessels and thus to functional failures or malfunctions.

There is even a temporary worsening of cognition in someone who has underlying vascular disease.  Take for example someone with mild  multi infarct dementia who becomes ill with pneumonia so that the blood oxygen is impaired.   For a time the cognition will be worse until the pneumonia clears and the O2 returns to previous levels.  Sometimes there will be a worsening of previous cognitive skill, like the return does not quite make it back to previous level. 

one of the first aim to prevent cerebrovascular ischaemic disease is to avoid vascular dementia that is a growing social and economical burden .

Patrizia Locatelli: One interesting observation, over the last 30 years looking at the brains of individuals who have died with different types of dementias I have noticed that there has been a great decline of plaque accumulation in the circle of Willis vessels.  Before the yellowish material would almost occlude them and now they are practically free. Must be due to change in diet and the cholesterol lowering drugs.  However we still see evidence of vascular dementia so the latter two must only be part of the answer.  Environmental stresses, genetics and goodness knows what might be on the table! Quite literally.    

Check out the INTERSTROKE study - psychological stress and depression had OR of 1.3 and 1.35 for stroke, lowere than most  traditional RFs but still significant...

Cerebral vascular disorders and cognitive insufficiency are closely connected. Angioneurology is a young science, which investigate the level of cerebral blood supply and psychoneurological disorders from the point of view of topological correlation. We based our neurorehabilitation approach on such attitude to cerebro-vascular and brain injury in psyhoneurological practice. More... http://angio-veritas.com/technologies/?lang=en

I will suggest you to read any paper talking about neurovascular coupling. In the 80s numerous groups published papers in which they described the early alteration of the CBF in patient with AD. Similar findings were found in animal models. In lots of the neurodegeneration pathologies, an associated angiopathy is asscociated.

The Psychological department of Helsinki University, Finland has studied the link between personality and cardiovascular diseases for example

Chumaeva, N., Hintsanen, M., Hintsa, T., Ravaja, N., Juonala, M., Raitakari, O.T., & Keltikangas-Järvinen, L. (2010). Early atherosclerosis and cardiac autonomic responses to mental stress: a population-based study of the moderating influence of impaired endothelial function. BMC Cardiovascular Disorders, 10, ARTN 16.

Chumaeva, N., Hintsanen, M., Juonala, M., Raitakari, O.T., & Keltikangas-Järvinen, L. (2010). Sex differences in the combined effect of chronic stress with impaired vascular endothelium functioning and the development of early atherosclerosis: the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns study. BMC Cardiovascular Disorders, 10, ARTN 34

Elovainio, M., Pulkki-Råback, L., Kivimäki, M., Jokela, M., Viikari, J., Raitakari, O.T., Telama, R. & Keltikangas-Järvinen, L. (2010). Lipid trajectories as predictors of depressive symptoms: The Young Finns Study. Health Psychology, 29, 237-245.

Hintsa, T., Hintsanen, M., Jokela, M., Elovainio, M., Raitakari, O., & Keltikangas-Järvinen, L. (2010). The influence of temperament on long-term job strain and its components: The cardiovascular risk in Young Finns Study. Personality and Individual Differences, 49, 700-705.

Hintsa, T., Puttonen, S., Toivonen, L., Kontula, K., Swan, H., & Keltikangas-Järvinen, L. (2010). A history of stressful life events, prolonged mental stress and arrhythmic events in inherited long QT syndrome. Heart, 96, 1281-1286.

Béatrice Marianne Ewalds-Kvist Thank you for the article references, I will definitely take a look. 

The mental disorders and vascular pathology have a direct correlation dependence. Cerebrovascular insufficiency develops in cortical areas in zones of vascularisations of a cerebral artery. The psychological and neurological deficit correlated with vascular disorders on topographic criteria. During individual vascular therapy we receive rhe decreasing of psychological disorders:http://angio-veritas.com/technologies/uzd-diahnostyka-sudyn-mozku-v-psyhonevrolohiji/?lang=en  and http://angio-veritas.com/technologies/individual-angiotherapy-with-instrumental-monitoring/?lang=en&lang=en 

http://angio-veritas.com/technologies/individual-angiotherapy-with-instrumental-monitoring/?lang=en&lang=en