Serum leptin, thyroxine and thyroid-stimulating hormone levels interact to affect cognitive function among US adults: evidence from a large representative survey

Abstract Neuroanatomical connections point to possible interactions between areas influencing energy homeostasis and those influencing cognition. We assessed whether serum leptin, thyroxine, and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels are associated with and interact to influence cognitive performa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Neurobiology of aging 2012-08, Vol.33 (8), p.1730-1743
Main Authors: Beydoun, May A, Beydoun, Hind A, Shroff, Monal R, Kitner-Triolo, Melissa H, Zonderman, Alan B
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Age Distribution
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Aging
Aging - blood
Biomarkers - blood
Cognition
Cognition Disorders - blood
Cognition Disorders - epidemiology
Cognitive function
Evidence-Based Medicine
Female
Health Surveys
Humans
Internal Medicine
Leptin
Leptin - blood
Male
Middle Aged
Neurology
Prevalence
Thyroid stimulating hormone
Thyrotropin - blood
Thyroxine
Thyroxine - blood
United States - epidemiology
Young Adult
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Summary:Abstract Neuroanatomical connections point to possible interactions between areas influencing energy homeostasis and those influencing cognition. We assessed whether serum leptin, thyroxine, and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels are associated with and interact to influence cognitive performance among US adults. Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III (1988–1994) were used. Measures included a battery of neuropsychological tests and serum leptin, thyroxine, and TSH levels (20–59-year-old: n = 1114–2665; 60–90-year-old: n = 1365–5519). Among those 20–59-year-old, the middle tertile of leptin (vs. first tertile) was inversely related to the number of errors on the symbol digits substitution test. Increased thyroxine level was associated with a poorer performance on the serial digits test in the 20–59-year-old, but a better performance on the math test in 60–90-year-old group. TSH was associated with poor performance on various tests in the 20–59-year-old, but better performance in the 60–90-year-old group. Significant antagonistic interactions were found in both age groups between thyroxine, TSH, and leptin for a number of tests, including between leptin and thyroxine in the 60–90-year-old group in their association with word recall-correct score. We found significant associations of our main exposures with cognitive function among US adults, going in opposite directions between age groups in the cases of thyroid hormonal levels, as well as some interactive effects between exposures. It is important to conduct prospective cohort studies to provide further insight into potential interventions that would assess interactive effects of various hormonal replacement regimens.
ISSN:0197-4580
1558-1497
1558-1497
DOI:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2011.05.008