MO531IMPACT OF INFLAMMATORY MARKERS IN COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT IN CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE PATIENTS

Abstract

Abstract Background and Aims Cognitive impairment is an increasingly identified major cause of chronic disability and is commonly found in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Knowledge of the link between kidney dysfunction and impaired cognition may enhance our understanding of risk factors impacting cognitive dysfunction. Our study aimed to evaluate the relation between serum inflammatory markers and the risk of cognitive decline among adults with CKD. Method Forty-six patients predialysis patients CKD stage 5 (mean age 55.6±11.5 years old) accepted to participate in the study. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scale was administered to patients. Patients with a MoCA global score of 24/30 were considered cognitively impaired. Descriptive analysis was done for the socio-demographic and clinical variables. We measured high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), ferritin level, albuminemia, and fibrinogen in baseline plasma samples. Results The mean total MoCA score for all the patients was 22.9 ±3.8 points. Thirty-seven patients, 57.7%, were evaluated with CI, where 74.6 % with Mild CI (MCI) and 25.4% with severe CI (SCI) under 20 points). MoCA subscale analysis revealed that the mean score for visuospatial/executive domain and attention were the lowest with 5.41±1.1 /8max and 2.93±1.75/6 max, and scores for orientation were the highest 5.92±0.57/6 max. At baseline, higher levels of each inflammatory marker were associated with poorer age-adjusted performance. In analyses adjusted for baseline cognition, demographics, comorbid conditions, and kidney function, participants in the highest tertile of hs-CRP, the highest tertile of fibrinogen, and the highest tertile of ferritin had an increased risk of impairment in attention compared to participants in the lowest tertile of each marker (p=0.043, p=0.047, p=0.029, respectively. The high level of ferritin was evaluated as a risk of impairment visuospatial/executive ability, and no relationship of inflammatory markers was observed with impairment of orientation p=0.01. hs-CRP and ferritin and low albumin level were independently associated with longitudinal global cognitive function (p=0.04, p=0.02, p=0.49 respectively). Conclusion In CKD patients, we have a relatively high risk for cognitive impairment. Our results extend the findings from prior studies by showing that inflammatory markers used in routine practice contribute and are independently associated with longitudinal changes in some domains of cognitive function in patients with CKD going in parallel with the inflammatory mechanisms that have been implicated in the pathogenesis of vascular and Alzheimer’s dementia.