Correlation between serum cystatin-C levels and cognitive impairment

Abstract

Objective To investigate the correlation between serum cystatin-C (Cys-C) levels and cognitive impairment. Methods A perspective study involving 273 patients in our hospital was performed from 2013 to 2015.They were divided into the cognitive impairment group and the control group.Cys-C measurement results and cognitive impairment assessment scores were collected.Possible influence factors were adjusted, and the correlation between Cys-C levels and mild cognitive impairment was analyzed. Results The distribution of age, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, smoking, drinking, dyslipidemia, and creatinine showed significant differences between the groups at different Cys-C levels (all P<0.05). There was a significant difference in the Cys-C level between the cognitive impairment group and the control group 〔(0.727±0.082) mg/L vs. (0.514±0.045)mg/L, t=23.68, P<0.01〕. The Cys-C level was negatively correlated with the scores of mini-mental state examination (MMSE) and Montreal cognitive assessment (MOCA) in the cognitive impairment group (r=-0.318 and -0.572, P<0.05). The incidence of cognitive impairment was elevated with increasing Cys-C levels (χ2=13.12, P<0.01). Logistic regression analysis showed that high levels of Cys-C (OR=3.298, 95% CI: 1.417-7.675, P=0.001), history of diabetes mellitus (OR=7.971, 95% CI: 3.036-31.562, P=0.03), education level (OR=2.237, 95% CI: 1.022-4.896, ), smoking (OR=5.692, 95% CI: 1.060-2.614), drinking (OR=1.227, 95% CI: 0.083-1.228), and dyslipidemia (OR=2.267, 95% CI: 1.177-4.366) are independent risk factors for cognitive impairment. Conclusions High serum cystatin C levels are closely correlated with the risk of cognitive impairment occurrence. Key words: Cysteine proteinase inhibitors; Cognitive impairment