Cognitive decline in adulthood is associated with adverse outcomes, such as increased risk for dementia. Evidence suggests that systemic inflammation may contribute to cognitive aging. Extant studies are largely cross-sectional and examine markers of inflammation that are not specific to the immune system and influenced by acute contemporaneous factors. We examined a newer marker of chronic inflammation, soluble urokinase Plasminogen Activator Receptor (suPAR) alongside more traditional markers, IL-6 and CRP. We hypothesized that higher baseline and greater increases in suPAR across an 8-19 (median 17) year period of midlife would associate with larger age-related declines in executive function (EF). Data were drawn from the Adult Health and Behavior (AHAB) study (n=599). Participants (55.5% female, 86.2% white, mean age 45 years at T1 and 60 years at T2) completed a neuropsychological battery and blood draw at both waves. EF was comprised of the Trail Making Test, the STROOP Test, and Matrix Reasoning. Univariate and Bivariate Latent change score models (LCSM) examined whether baseline and change in circulating levels of inflammatory mediators were associated with change in EF from T1 to T2. Baseline inflammation was not associated with change in EF. Change in suPAR was significantly related to concomitant change in EF (= -0.315; p <.05). No similar effects were observed for IL6 or CRP. Further research should examine suPAR as potential marker of chronic systemic inflammation and its relationship to cognitive aging.
Keywords: CRP; Cognitive aging; Cognitive decline; IL-6; Inflammation; Inflammatory markers; suPAR.
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