Maintenance of adequate blood pressure regulation is essential for cerebral perfusion. Impairments in cardiovascular status may lead to poor blood pressure regulation in response to orthostatis, or postural change from laying down to standing up. An inadequate change in orthostatic blood pressure regulation has been associated with various affective and cognitive deficits in adults and children. The present study investigated the relationship between orthostatic blood pressure regulation and cognitive functioning measured by the Trail Making Test (TMT). Additionally, the impact of race on the relationship between orthostatic blood pressure regulation and performance on the TMT was explored. Participants consisted of 121 African American and Caucasian children, between the ages of 7 and 10 years. Children's blood pressure measures were taken after remaining supine for 5 minutes and after standing for 1 minute. Following a rest period, TMT-A and TMT-B were administered. Multiple regression analyses revealed that as orthostatic blood pressure regulation became less effective scores on TMT-B declined. There was no impact of race on the relationship between orthostatic blood pressure regulation and performance on TMT. However, African American participants had higher average supine and standing SBP values than Caucasian participants. Therefore, African Americans are generally at a higher baseline of blood pressure than Caucasians, which may protect against an orthostatic decrease in blood pressure. Results extend findings on the association between less effective orthostatic blood pressure regulation and poorer performance on cognitive tests. Therefore, orthostatic blood pressure regulation may serve as a biological indicator of poorer cognitive functioning.
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