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. 2014 Dec;62(12):2303-10.
doi: 10.1111/jgs.13165.

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

B Gwen Windham  1 , Brittany N Simpson, Seth Lirette, John Bridges, Lawrence Bielak, Patricia A Peyser, Iftikhar Kullo, Stephen Turner, Michael E Griswold, Thomas H Mosley
Affiliations

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

B Gwen Windham et al. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2014 Dec.

Abstract

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.

Keywords: cognition; ethnicity; inflammation.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: The editor in chief has reviewed the conflict of interest checklist provided by the authors and has determined that the authors have no financial or any other kind of personal conflicts with this paper.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Raw cognitive score means across race-stratifieds TNFR2 inflammatory tertiles. Open squares indicate raw cognitive score means with individual, raw cognitive scores displayed as points within each tertile
sTNFR2=soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor 2; MMSE=Mini-Mental State Examination; DSST=Digit Symbol Substitution Task; TMT-A=Trail Making Test A; RAVLT=Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test; Incidental Learning - Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale -III Incidental Learning Task; TMT-B - Trails Making Test-B; T1=Tertile 1; T2=Tertile 2; T3=Tertile 3
Figure 2
Figure 2. Differential associations of sTNFR2 on Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) in African Americans (AA: dark gray) and European Americans (EA: light gray) from adjusted models. Solid lines are regression lines with shaded confidence bounds
Dashed lines are LOWESS nonlinear smoothers (diagnostic check) Race specific standard deviations (SDs), and standardized beta coefficients, are shown with subscripted lower and upper 95% confidence limits (lower confidence limit “LCL” and upper confidence limit “UCL”), displayed as LCLβUCL. sTNFR=soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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