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. 2009 Aug;57(8):1441-6.
doi: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2009.02343.x. Epub 2009 Jun 8.

Insulinlike growth factor-1, insulinlike growth factor binding protein-1, and cognitive function in older men and women

Wael K Al-Delaimy  1 , Denise von Muhlen, Elizabeth Barrett-Connor
Affiliations

Insulinlike growth factor-1, insulinlike growth factor binding protein-1, and cognitive function in older men and women

Wael K Al-Delaimy et al. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2009 Aug.

Abstract

Objectives: To assess the association between insulinlike growth factor (IGF)-1 and IGF binding protein (IGFBP)-1 with three cognitive function tests in a healthy elderly population.

Design: Cross-sectional analyses from the Rancho Bernardo Cohort Study.

Setting: Southern California community of Rancho Bernardo.

Participants: Men (n=636) and women (n=899) from the Rancho Bernardo study (median age 74) were assessed between 1988 and 1992 for cognitive function using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Verbal Fluency (VF) test, and Trail-Making Test Part B (Trails B). Blood samples were obtained at the same time for IGF-1 and IGFBP-1 levels. The association between biomarkers and cognitive function tests was assessed by dichotomizing tests at the clinically relevant cutoff using logistic regression and according to tertiles and continuous IGF-1 and IGFBP-1 levels using multivariate linear regression analyses.

Results: The mean MMSE, VF and Trails B scores indicated better cognitive function with higher IGF-1 tertile. Multivariate analyses showed that VF and MMSE were each significantly associated with IGF-1 in a dose-response manner for men (P for trend=.001), but no cognitive function tests were related to IGF-1 in women. For men, the highest IGFBP-1 tertile was inversely and significantly different from the lowest tertile for the MMSE test only (P for trend=.02).

Conclusion: IGF-1 was independently and positively related to MMSE and VF in men, and IGFBP-1 was inversely associated with MMSE in men. Sex differences in the association should be further investigated.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interests

  1. Financial conflicts: None

  2. Personal conflicts: None

  3. Full or adequate disclosure: None

  4. Potential conflict: None

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