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Published on: January 24, 2020
The association between systemic inflammation and cognitive performance in the elderly: the Sydney Memory and Ageing
Julian N Trollor1, Evelyn Smith, Emmeline Agars
1Department of Developmental Disability Neuropsychiatry, School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, 34 Botany Road, Sydney, NSW, Australia. j.trollor@unsw.edu.au
Age (Dordrecht, Netherlands)
|August 20, 2011
Summary
Systemic inflammation markers, such as interleukin-12, are linked to poorer processing speed in older adults, particularly women. This association persists even when accounting for other health and genetic factors.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Immunology
- Gerontology
Background:
- Inflammation is increasingly recognized as a potential contributor to cognitive decline and dementia.
- Understanding the relationship between systemic inflammation and cognitive function in aging is crucial for public health.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the cross-sectional associations between various systemic inflammatory markers and cognitive function in non-demented elderly individuals.
- To identify specific inflammatory markers related to cognitive domains and explore potential sex differences.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study of 873 community-dwelling elderly participants (aged 70-90 years).
- Measured systemic inflammatory markers (e.g., C-reactive protein, interleukins, tumor necrosis factor-α).
- Assessed cognitive function across multiple domains and performed regression analyses, controlling for numerous confounding variables including age, sex, education, cardiovascular risk factors, metabolic factors, smoking, alcohol, depression, and APOE ε4 genotype.
Main Results:
- Elevated levels of interleukin-12 were significantly associated with reduced processing speed after Bonferroni correction.
- These associations were primarily observed in females.
- Interleukin-12 and interleukin-6 were both linked to a processing speed/executive function factor, independent of confounders.
Conclusions:
- Systemic inflammation markers are associated with cognitive deficits in an elderly population, independent of common confounding factors.
- The findings highlight a potential role for inflammation in cognitive aging, particularly affecting processing speed and executive function in women.
- Further research is needed to understand the underlying mechanisms and longitudinal progression of these inflammatory-cognitive relationships.
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