B – 48 Understanding the relationship between cardiovascular health factors and neuropsychological test performance after traumatic brain injury

Abstract Objective The Life’s Essential (LE8) score is a set of eight factors contributing to cardiovascular health including blood pressure, blood glucose, blood lipids, body mass index, diet, physical activity, smoking, and sleep. Research has suggested that higher LE8 scores correlates to fewer dementia events and better neurocognitive health. We explored the association of LE8 score and neuropsychological test performance in a sample of traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients. Method 28 outpatients (M age = 46.5, SD = 15.9; 60.7% females) with mild or moderate TBI underwent neuropsychological assessment in an academic medical setting after a sustaining a TBI. Data were analyzed using correlation and linear regression. The Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI), Perceptual Reasoning Index (PRI), Working Memory Index (WMI) and Full-Scale IQ (FSIQ) from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale – (WAIS-IV), as well as Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) were examined. Results The mean LE8 score was 5.45 (SD = 1.26). LE8 was significantly correlated with the WMI (r = .48, p = .027), FSIQ (r = .50, p = .031) and MoCA (r = .76, p = .030). The association between WMI and LE8 remained significant after adjusting for age and sex. VCI and PRI were not associated with LE8. Conclusion This study provides novel insights into various health factors that may influence recovery after TBI. Higher LE8 scores appear to relate to higher scores in overall cognition but also working memory. Our research suggests that modifiable factors may be associated with cognitive performance, which demonstrates promising avenues for intervention in TBI.