Although, data collected from smartphones have been confirmed as valid markers in the assessment of depressive and manic states, extending the validity of such markers to the cognitive impairment or the cardiovascular population remains an open challenge.
ITP targets this ambition beyond the state of the art and performs research under the recently established ITP Research Program entitled Relation between cognitive impairment and cardiovascular diseases aiming to extend the state of the art by investigating the relationship between cognitive impairment and cardiovascular diseases.
Both cognitive impairment (CI) as well as cardiovascular disease (CVD), including myocardial infarction (MI), are a significant burden on the health and social care systems. Currently, 50 million people worldwide suffer from dementia, while CVDs are still the leading cause of death[1]. Unfortunately, assessment of cognitive function is not part of routine clinical practice, especially in cardiac patients. Nevertheless, a growing body of evidence points to an association between CVD, including ischemic heart disease, and the occurrence of CI. The mechanisms responsible for this remain largely unknown. The problem of the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in cardiac patients is also highlighted by the latest guidelines on cardiovascular prevention. They indicate that all mental disorders are associated with the development of CVD, while the onset of CVD is associated with a 2-3 times higher risk of mental disorders. It is estimated that the annual prevalence of psychiatric disorders in patients with CVD is around 40%, leading to a significantly worse prognosis.
Given these clinical implications, we have undertaken an assessment of cognitive functioning in people after MI and 6 months later and attempted to identify factors that may influence it. ITP Foundation performs this research in collaboration with the Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznań, Poland, and with the Department of Cardiology, J. Strus Hospital, Poznań, Poland, and contributed to the statistical analyses.
The main outcomes of this pilot study conducted at the Cardiology Department of J. Struś Hospital in Poznań (agreement no.1201/16) have been recently submitted for publication. This paper is under review (has been accepted after minor revision), so we expect that it will be published beginning 2023.