Inflammatory markers and neuropsychological functioning: The Framingham heart study

Angela L. Jefferson, Joseph M. Massaro, Alexa S. Beiser, Sudha Seshadri, Martin G. Larson, Philip A. Wolf, Rhoda Au, Emelia J. Benjamin

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

31 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background/Aims: We hypothesized that inflammatory markers are cross-sectionally and longitudinally associated with neuropsychological indicators of early ischemia and Alzheimer's disease. Methods: Framingham Offspring Study participants, free of clinical stroke or dementia (n = 1,878; 60 ± 9 years; 54% women), underwent neuropsychological assessment and ascertainment of 11 inflammatory markers. Follow-up neuropsychological assessments (6.3 ± 1.0 years) were conducted on 1,352 of the original 1,878 participants. Results: Multivariable linear regression related the inflammatory markers to cross-sectional performance and longitudinal change in neuropsychological performances. Secondary models included a twelfth factor, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), available on a subset of the sample (n = 1,393 cross-sectional; n = 1,213 longitudinal). Results suggest a few modest cross-sectional inflammatory and neuropsychological associations, particularly for tests assessing visual organization (C-reactive protein, p = 0.007), and a few modest relations between inflammatory markers and neuropsychological change, particularly for executive functioning (TNF-α, p = 0.004). Secondary analyses suggested that inflammatory markers were cross-sectionally (TNF-α, p = 0.004) related to reading performance. Conclusions: Our findings are largely negative, but suggest that specific inflammatory markers may have limited associations with poorer cognition and reading performance among community-dwelling adults. Because of multiple testing concerns, our limited positive findings are offered as hypothesis generating and require replication in other studies.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)21-30
Number of pages10
JournalNeuroepidemiology
Volume37
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2011
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Cognition
  • Executive functioning
  • Inflammation
  • Memory
  • WRAT-3 reading

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Clinical Neurology
  • Epidemiology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Inflammatory markers and neuropsychological functioning: The Framingham heart study'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this