Association of C-Reactive Protein and Motoric Cognitive Risk Syndrome in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: The China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study

Abstract

Motoric cognitive risk syndrome (MCR) is a newly described pre-dementia syndrome characterized by cognitive complaints and slow gait and is associated with numerous adverse outcomes. Previous studies have indicated an association between C-reactive protein (CRP) and cognitive decline, but no clear relationship between CRP and MCR has been reported. The purpose of the study is to examine the associations between CRP with MCR and MCR subtypes. Participants were 5,642 adults aged ≥60 years from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). MCR was defined as cognitive complaints and slow gait speed without dementia or impaired mobility. Two subtypes of MCR were defined by whether memory impairment (MI) was also present, such as MCR-MI and MCR-non-MI. MI was evaluated through the immediate recall and delayed recall in a word recall test during the CHARLS and was defined as 1.0 standard deviation or more below the mean values of the test scores in this cohort. Of the participants, 421 (7.46%) met the criteria for MCR. After multivariate adjustment, participants with higher CRP levels had an increased likelihood of MCR (fourth quartile: adjusted odds ratio [OR]=1.44; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.06–1.95) compared with those in the first quartile group. The OR for MCR-MI was 2.04 (95% CI: 1.35–3.09) for the highest quartile of CRP compared to the lowest quartile. No significant associations between CRP levels and odds of MCR-non-MI were observed. Higher CRP levels were associated with increased odds of prevalent MCR-MI but not MCR-non-MI among community-dwelling older adults.