Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36791891›Full record

ArticleBrain, behavior, and immunity2023

Association between inflammation and cognition: Triangulation of evidence using a population-based cohort and Mendelian randomization analyses.

Chloe Slaney, Hannah M Sallis, Hannah J Jones, Christina Dardani, Charge Inflammation Working Group, Kate Tilling, Marcus R Munafò, George Davey Smith, Liam Mahedy, Golam M Khandaker

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In one paragraph

Article in Brain, behavior, and immunity, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
21citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

21 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Chloe SlaneyMRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol, UK; School of Psychological Science, University of Bristol, 12a Priory Road, Bristol, UK; Centre for Academic Mental Health, Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, UK. Electronic address: chloe.slaney@bristol.ac.uk.
Hannah M SallisMRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol, UK; School of Psychological Science, University of Bristol, 12a Priory Road, Bristol, UK; Centre for Academic Mental Health, Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, UK; Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
Hannah J JonesMRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol, UK; Centre for Academic Mental Health, Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, UK; National Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Centre at the University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Bristol, UK.
Christina DardaniCentre for Academic Mental Health, Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, UK; Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
Charge Inflammation Working Group
Kate TillingMRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol, UK; Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
Marcus R MunafòMRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol, UK; School of Psychological Science, University of Bristol, 12a Priory Road, Bristol, UK; National Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Centre at the University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Bristol, UK.
George Davey SmithMRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol, UK; Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK; National Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Centre at the University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Bristol, UK.
Liam MahedyMRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol, UK; Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK; National Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Centre at the University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Bristol, UK.
Golam M KhandakerMRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol, UK; Centre for Academic Mental Health, Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, UK; Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK; National Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Centre at the University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Bristol, UK.

Funding

Medical Research Council MC_PC_17213Medical Research Council MC_UU_00011/1Medical Research Council MC_UU_00011/3Medical Research Council MC_UU_00011/7Medical Research Council MC_UU_00032/1Medical Research Council MC_UU_00032/6Medical Research Council MR/L022206/1Medical Research Council MR/S037675/1Medical Research Council MR/V004905/1Medical Research Council MR/W014416/1Wellcome Trust
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundInflammation is associated with cognitive functioning and dementia in older adults, but whether inflammation is related to cognitive functioning in youth and whether these associations are causal remains unclear.

methodsIn a population-based cohort (Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children; ALSPAC), we investigated cross-sectional associations of inflammatory markers (C-reactive protein [CRP], Interleukin-6 [IL-6] and Glycoprotein acetyls [GlycA]) with measures of cold (working memory, response inhibition) and hot (emotion recognition) cognition at age 24 (N = 3,305 in multiple imputation models). Furthermore, we conducted one-sample and two-sample bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses to examine potential causal effects of genetically-proxied inflammatory markers (CRP, GlycA, IL-6, IL-6 receptor, soluble IL-6 receptor) on cognitive measures (above) and on general cognitive ability.

resultsIn the ALSPAC cohort, there was limited evidence of an association between standardised inflammatory markers and standardised cognitive measures at age 24 after adjusting for potential confounders (N = 3,305; beta range, -0.02 [95 % confidence interval (CI) -0.06 to 0.02, p = 0.27] to 0.02 [95 % CI -0.02 to 0.05, p = 0.33]). Similarly, we found limited evidence of potential effects of 1-unit increase in genetically-proxied inflammatory markers on standardised working memory, emotion recognition or response inhibition in one-sample MR using ALSPAC data (beta range, -0.73 [95 % CI -2.47 to 1.01, p = 0.41] to 0.21 [95 % CI -1.42 to 1.84, p = 0.80]; or on standardised general cognitive ability in two-sample MR using the latest Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) datasets (inverse-variance weighted beta range, -0.02 [95 % CI -0.05 to 0.01, p = 0.12] to 0.03 [95 % CI -0.01 to 0.07, p = 0.19]).

conclusionsOur MR findings do not provide strong evidence of a potential causal effect of inflammatory markers (CRP, IL-6, IL-6 receptor, GlycA) on the cognitive functions examined here. Given the large confidence intervals in the one-sample MR, larger GWAS of specific cognitive measures are needed to enable well-powered MR analyses to investigate whether inflammation causally influences specific cognitive domains.

Indexed as

Genome-Wide Association StudyMendelian Randomization AnalysisAdolescentAdultAgedChildCognitionC-Reactive ProteinCross-Sectional StudiesHumansInflammationInterleukin-6Longitudinal StudiesPolymorphism, Single NucleotideReceptors, Interleukin-6Young AdultC-Reactive ProteinInterleukin-6Receptors, Interleukin-6ALSPACCognitionCRPEmotion recognitionGlycAIL-6InflammationMendelian randomizationObservationalResponse inhibitionWorking memory

Identifiers

PMID36791891
PMCPMC10728829

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.