S. Kalmijn et al., A prospective study on circulating insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), IGF-binding proteins, and cognitive function in the elderly, J CLIN END, 85(12), 2000, pp. 4551-4555
The objective of this study was to investigate the longitudinal relation be
tween the insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I)/IGF-binding protein (IGFBP)
system and cognitive function. The study population consisted of a sample o
f 186 healthy participants from the population-based Rotterdam Study, aged
55-80 yr. At baseline, we determined fasting blood levels of free and total
IGF-I, IGFBP-1, and IGFBP-3. The 30-point Mini-Mental State Examination (M
MSE) was used to assess cognitive impairment at baseline (MMSE score of <26
; 6% of the sample) and cognitive decline after, on the average, 1.9 yr of
follow-up (drop in MMSE score of >1 point/year; 22% of the sample). Odds ra
tios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were estimated using logist
ic regression, with adjustment for age, sex, education, body mass index, an
d fasting insulin levels. Total IGF-I appeared to be inversely related to c
ognitive impairment, although not significantly. Higher total IGF-I and the
total IGF-I/IGFBP-3 ratio were associated with less cognitive decline (OR
per so increase = 0.65; 95% CI = 0.44-0.95 and OR = 0.59; 95% CI = 0.39-0.8
7, respectively). No relation was observed between free IGF-I and cognitive
decline (OR = 0.99; 95% CI = 0.68-1.44). In conclusion, in this prospectiv
e study higher serum total IGF-I levels and higher total IGF-I/IGFBP-3 rati
os, but not higher free IGF-I levels, were associated with less cognitive d
ecline over the following 2 yr. Circulating total IGF-I levels may reflect
an underlying biological process that influences cognitive decline.