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Objectives: The proportion of older people with dementia in China is gradually increasing with the increase in the aging population over recent years. Hypertension and diabetes are common non‐communicable diseases among rural populations in China. However, it remains unclear whether these conditions affect the occurrence and development of cognitive impairment as there is limited research on cognitive status and its risk factors among residents of rural areas. Methods: A multi‐stage stratified cluster random sampling method was used to select 5400 participants from rural permanent residents. A self‐designed structured questionnaire was used to investigate demographic data of the participants. Cognitive function was assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Function Assessment Scale (MoCA). The results were analyzed using chi‐square test, ANOVA and multiple linear regression analysis. Results: A total of 5028 participants returned the survey, giving a response rate of 93.1%. Higher education (odds ratio (OR) = 3.2, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.87–3.54, p < 0.001), higher income (OR = 1.61, 95% CI 1.16–2.07, p < 0.001), and dietary control (OR = 0.66, 95%CI 0.34–0.98, p < 0.001) were protective factors. A visual representation of the relationship between annual income and MoCA score showed an inverted U‐curve, the group with an annual income of 6000–7999 RMB had a maximum OR of 1.93 (95%CI 0.12–2.74, p < 0.001). While difficulty in maintaining sleep were risk factors for cognitive impairment (OR = −2.28, 95% CI–4.18–0.39, p = 0.018). Conclusions: Participants with middle incomes had better cognitive status than those with the highest incomes. Higher education, proper diet control and good sleep are beneficial to the cognitive status of residents in rural areas. Key points: Higher education level, higher income level and diet control are protective factors for the development of cognitive dysfunction.Cognitive dysfunction is more likely to occur in women and in people who have difficulty maintaining sleep.There were no significant differences in the demographic characteristics of patients with hypertension, diabetes, the combination of hypertension and diabetes, and healthy residents in low‐income rural areas.The cognitive status of middle‐income people is better than that of high‐income people than that of low‐income people, a visual representation of the relationship between annual income and MoCA score showed an inverted U‐curve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To investigate the alterations of topological organization of the whole brain functional networks in hypertension patients with cognitive impairment (HTN-CI) and characterize its relationship with cognitive scores. Methods: Fifty-seven hypertension patients with cognitive impairment and 59 hypertension patients with normal cognition (HTN-NC), and 49 healthy controls (HCs) underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. Graph theoretical analysis was used to investigate the altered topological organization of the functional brain networks. The global topological properties and nodal metrics were compared among the three groups. Network-based statistic (NBS) analysis was used to determine the connected subnetwork. The relationships between network metrics and cognitive scores were also characterized. Results: HTN-CI patients exhibited significantly decreased global efficiency, lambda, and increased shortest path length when compared with HCs. In addition, both HTN-CI and HTN-NC groups exhibited altered nodal degree centrality and nodal efficiency in the right precentral gyrus. The disruptions of global network metrics (lambda, Lp) and the nodal metrics (degree centrality and nodal efficiency) in the right precentral gyrus were positively correlated with the MoCA scores in HTN-CI. NBS analysis demonstrated that decreased subnetwork connectivity was present both in the HTN-CI and HTN-NC groups, which were mainly involved in the default mode network, frontoparietal network, and cingulo-opercular network. Conclusion: This study demonstrated the alterations of topographical organization and subnetwork connectivity of functional brain networks in HTN-CI. In addition, the global and nodal network properties were correlated with cognitive scores, which may provide useful insights for the understanding of neuropsychological mechanisms underlying HTN-CI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]