ArticleJournal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD2022
Cross-Sectional Association Between Blood Cell Phenotypes, Cognitive Function, and Brain Imaging Measures in the Community-Based Framingham Heart Study.
Article in Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 32 citations in OpenAlex.
- Association between neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and cerebral small vessel disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in neurology · 2026Pooled it
- Metabolic signatures, vitamin D, and red cell distribution width in dementia risk: UK Biobank insights.GeroScience · 2026Article
- Coffee and tea intake, circulating inflammatory biomarkers, and long-term risk of dementia: findings from two longitudinal studies.European journal of epidemiology · 2026Article
- The impact of Naples prognostic score on cognitive impairment in hemodialysis patients: a multicenter study.Renal failure · 2025Article
- White Blood Cells in Neurodegenerative Diseases in the Context of Neuroinflammation.Molecular neurobiology · 2025Review
- Structural and functional brain correlates of the neutrophil- and monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio in neuropsychiatric disorders.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2025Article
- Effect of cognitive behavioral intervention on physical symptoms, B-type natriuretic peptide, red cell distribution width, C-reactive protein in elderly heart failure patients.Journal of cardiothoracic surgery · 2025Article
- Peripheral blood cell profile and monocyte-high-density lipoprotein ratio in Alzheimer's disease: a hospital-based case-control study.Archives of medical science : AMS · 2025Article
- Hemoglobin-to-red blood cell distribution width ratio: a new insight into cognitive protection for obese individuals.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- Causal association between blood leukocyte counts and vascular dementia: a two-sample bidirectional Mendelian randomization study.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Bayesian genome-wide TWAS with reference transcriptomic data of brain and blood tissues identified 141 risk genes for Alzheimer's disease dementia.Alzheimer's research & therapy · 2024Article
- Predictors of cognitive change in cognitively healthy older women in Panama: the PARI-HD study.Frontiers in global women's health · 2024Article
- Peripheral inflammatory biomarkers are associated with cognitive function and dementia: Framingham Heart Study Offspring cohort.Aging cell · 2023Article
- Association between the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio and mild cognitive impairment in patients with type 2 diabetes.Aging clinical and experimental research · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundPeripheral inflammation is associated with increased risk for dementia. Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), red cell distribution width (RDW), and mean platelet volume (MPV), are easily measured circulating blood cell phenotypes reflecting chronic peripheral inflammation, but their association with dementia status is unclear.
objectiveWe sought to investigate the cross-sectional association of these inflammatory measures with neuropsychological (NP) test performance, and brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures in the Framingham Heart Study (FHS) Offspring, Third-generation, and Omni cohorts.
methodsWe identified FHS participants who attended an exam that included a complete blood cell count (CBC) and underwent NP testing (n = 3,396) or brain MRI (n = 2,770) within five years of blood draw. We investigated the association between NLR, RDW, and MPV and NP test performance and structural MRI-derived volumetric measurements using linear mixed effect models accounting for family relationships and adjusting for potential confounders.
resultsParticipants were on average 60 years old, 53% female, and about 80% attended some college. Higher NLR was significantly associated with poorer performance on visual memory, and visuospatial abilities, as well as with larger white matter hyperintensity volume. We also observed associations for higher RDW with poorer executive function and smaller total cerebral brain volume.
conclusionChronic peripheral inflammation as measured by NLR and RDW was associated with worse cognitive function, reduced brain volume, and greater microvascular disease in FHS participants. If confirmed in other samples, CBC may provide informative and cost-effective biomarkers of abnormal brain aging in the community.
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