Participants are being enrolled up to the present. As a result, the Maine-Syracuse project has created one of the longest running and extensive data bases on blood pressure and comprehensive measures neuropsychological test performance in the world. The Framingham Heart Study began in 1950 with a group of about 5,000 participants. Extensive medical data on cardiovascular risk factors have been obtained every two years. A battery of neuropsychological tests was first given to 1,799 of the subjects in 1968 and every two years since then.
Studies vary in cognitive tests The two studies also vary in their approaches to cognitive function.
The Framingham study uses a short battery of neuropsychological tests emphasizing memory. However, the Framingham Study has much more data on a wide range of cardiovascular disease risk factors and diseases than does the Maine-Syracuse Study. Study results have been published in Hypertension, the American Journal of Epidemiology, Psychosomatic Medicine, Health Psychology, the Journal of Gerontology, the Psychology of Aging and have been reported at professional meetings including those of the American Heart Association. We must keep in mind, however, that effective treatment or prevention practices can delay or prevent accelerated cognitive decline associated with cardiovascular risk factors. Our data, and data from other investigators, should provide an additional incentive for people to control hypertension, diabetes, cigarette smoking and obesity through good health practices or medical treatment.