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Updated: Mar 20, 2026
Highlighting and Reducing the Impact of Negative Aging Stereotypes During Older Adults' Cognitive Testing
Published on: January 24, 2020
Repeated systemic inflammation was associated with cognitive deficits in older Britons
1University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
Insights
Higher levels of inflammation, including C-reactive protein (CRP) and fibrinogen, are linked to poorer episodic memory in older adults. This effect is particularly pronounced for CRP in the oldest age groups.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Gerontology
- Biomarkers
Background:
- Emerging evidence suggests a link between C-reactive protein (CRP) and cognitive function in older adults.
- Previous research indicates a positive association between CRP and cognition in the oldest age groups (≥75 years).
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between inflammatory markers, specifically C-reactive protein (CRP) and fibrinogen, and episodic memory decline throughout later life (≥50 years).
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal data from the English Longitudinal Study of Aging (2004-2013) were analyzed.
- Growth trajectory models were applied to repeated measures of episodic memory, CRP, and fibrinogen, accounting for sociodemographic factors and practice effects.
Main Results:
- Elevated levels of both fibrinogen and CRP were associated with worse episodic memory performance.
- A significant negative effect of fibrinogen on episodic memory was observed throughout later life.
- A strong negative association between CRP levels and episodic memory was found specifically in the older old group (≥75 years).
Conclusions:
- Higher fibrinogen levels negatively impact cognitive function in older adults.
- Elevated CRP levels are comparably detrimental to cognitive function in the very old.
- Inflammatory markers like CRP and fibrinogen may serve as important indicators in managing cognitive decline and dementia risk.
Introduction:
The relationship of C-reactive protein (CRP) to cognition in the older old group (≥75 years) has recently been found positive on both sides of the Atlantic. We hypothesized that higher levels of CRP and fibrinogen are related to worse episodic memory throughout later life (≥50 years).
Methods:
Data are drawn from older Britons free of dementias in the English Longitudinal Study of Aging 2004-2013. We applied growth trajectory models to repeated observations of episodic memory, CRP, and fibrinogen levels (and sociodemographic confounders). We accounted for practice effects in repeated tests of cognition.
Results:
Higher levels of both inflammatory markers were associated with worse episodic memory, where a fibrinogen effect is evident throughout later life (coefficient -0.154; 95% confidence interval [CI] -0.254 to -0.054). Most importantly, the CRP effect is strongly negative among the older old group (coefficient -0.179; CI -0.320 to -0.038).
Discussion:
Higher levels of fibrinogen are detrimental to older people's cognition, and among the older old, raised CRP levels are comparably deleterious. Repeated measures of inflammation can be considered in clinical practice as part of a response to the challenge of dementias.
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