Associations between inflammation and cognitive function in African Americans and European Americans

• Autores: B. Gwen Windham, Brittany N. Simpson, Seth T. Lirette, John Bridges, Lawrence Bielak, Patricia A. Peyser, Iftikhar J. Kullo, Stephen T. Turner, Michael E. Griswold, Thomas H. Mosley Jr.
• Localización: Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, ISSN 0002-8614, Vol. 62, Nº. 12, 2014, págs. 2303-2310
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Objectives: To examine associations between specific inflammatory biomarkers and cognitive function in African Americans (AAs) and European Americans (EAs) with prevalent vascular risk factors.

    Design: Cross-sectional analysis using generalized estimating equations to account for familial clustering; standardized β-coefficients, adjusted for age, sex, and education are reported.

    Setting: Community cohort study in Jackson, Mississippi, and Rochester, Minnesota.

    Participants: Genetic Epidemiology Network of Arteriopathy (GENOA)–Genetics of Microangiopathic Brain Injury (GMBI) Study participants.

    Measurements: Associations between inflammation (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin (IL)-6, soluble tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor 1 and 2 (sTNFR1, sTNFR2)) and cognitive function (global, processing speed, language, memory, and executive function) were examined in AAs and EAs (N = 1,965; aged 26–95, 64% women, 52% AA, 75% with hypertension).

    Results: In AAs, higher sTNFR2 was associated with poorer cognition in all domains (global: −0.11, P = .009; processing speed: −0.11, P < .001; language: −0.08, P = .002; memory: −0.09, P = .008; executive function: −0.07, P = .03); sTNFR1 was associated with slower processing speed (−0.08, P < .001) and poorer executive function (−0.08, P = .008); higher CRP was associated with slower processing speed (−0.04, P = .024), and higher IL6 was associated with poorer executive function (−0.07, P = .02). In EA, only higher sTNFR1 was associated with slower processing speed (−0.05, P = .007). Associations were not found between cognition and sTNFR2, CRP, or IL6 in EA.

    Conclusion: In a population with high vascular risk, adverse associations between inflammation and cognitive function were especially apparent in AAs, primarily involving markers of TNFα activity.