High-sensitivity C-reactive protein and cognitive function in older women

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Epidemiology
• Immunology

Background:

• Inflammation is a suspected factor in dementia development.
• Previous studies on inflammatory markers and cognitive function have yielded inconsistent results.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between plasma high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels and cognitive function in older women.
• To determine if hs-CRP, an inflammatory marker, is linked to cognitive decline.

Main Methods:

• Measured plasma hs-CRP levels in 4,231 older women (aged 60-90) from the Women's Health Study.
• Administered cognitive tests assessing general cognition, verbal memory, and category fluency.
• Utilized multiple linear regression to analyze cognitive scores across hs-CRP quintiles, adjusting for confounders.

Main Results:

• A wide distribution of hs-CRP levels was observed, with many participants showing high cardiovascular disease risk levels.
• No significant association was found between higher hs-CRP levels and poorer performance on cognitive tests.
• Mean cognitive scores did not differ between women in the highest and lowest hs-CRP quintiles.

Conclusions:

• The study found no evidence linking hs-CRP, a marker of inflammation, to cognitive function decrements in the studied cohort.
• These findings suggest that hs-CRP may not be a significant predictor of cognitive decline in older women.