Thyroid-stimulating hormone and cognitive impairment in non-depressed non-demented multiethnic middle-aged and older US adults: Assessing sex-specific risk prediction

Background: Understanding the particularities of thyroid-cognition interactions in older adults is crucial in assessing the risks and evaluating therapeutic options. Methods: Cross-sectional analyses where participants from Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) with mild cognitive impai...

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Main Author: Asma Hallab
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-09-01
Series:Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics Plus
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950307825000761
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author Asma Hallab
author_facet Asma Hallab
author_sort Asma Hallab
collection DOAJ
description Background: Understanding the particularities of thyroid-cognition interactions in older adults is crucial in assessing the risks and evaluating therapeutic options. Methods: Cross-sectional analyses where participants from Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and healthy controls (HC), with complete neurocognitive tests, thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) <10 µIU/mL, and geriatric depression scale (GDS) <5, were eligible. Linear and logistic regression models, including testing for non-linearity, were performed. Sex strata were explored. Results: Of the total 1845 multiethnic US-participants, with a median age of 73 (IQR: 68, 78); 887 (48 %) were females, and 1056 (57 %) had MCI. The median TSH level was 1.70 µIU/mL (IQR: 1.15, 2.40); significantly lower in MCI than HC (1.66 vs. 1.74 µIU/mL, p-value=0.02). There was a significant association between TSH and overall cognition only in males (adj. ßMales=-0.40[-0.74, -0.07], p-value=0.019). The odds of being diagnosed with MCI at baseline decreased with higher TSH levels in the total study population (adj. ORTotal=0.87[0.79, 0.95], p-value=0.002) and in males (adj. ORMales=0.80[0.70, 0.92], p-value=0.001). Conclusions: There was a sex-specific, statistically significant association between TSH levels and cognition in multiethnic middle-aged and older ADNI adults. Lower TSH levels and worse global cognition were statistically associated only in males. To precisely delineate the chronological onset of these disorders, longitudinal clinical studies are needed.
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spelling doaj-art-2a071adca8b94a14b3dcb2513a3efc3e2025-08-20T04:01:01ZengElsevierArchives of Gerontology and Geriatrics Plus2950-30782025-09-012310019510.1016/j.aggp.2025.100195Thyroid-stimulating hormone and cognitive impairment in non-depressed non-demented multiethnic middle-aged and older US adults: Assessing sex-specific risk predictionAsma Hallab0Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Psychiatry and Radiology Departments, Mass General Brigham, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Biologie Intégrative et Physiologie, Parcours Neurosciences Cellulaires et integrées, Faculté des Sciences et Ingénierie, Sorbonne Université, Paris, France; Pathologies du Sommeil, Hôpital Universitaire Pitié-Salpêtrière, Faculté de Médecine, Sorbonne Université, Paris, France; Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin Chariteplatz 1, Berlin 10117, GermanyBackground: Understanding the particularities of thyroid-cognition interactions in older adults is crucial in assessing the risks and evaluating therapeutic options. Methods: Cross-sectional analyses where participants from Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and healthy controls (HC), with complete neurocognitive tests, thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) <10 µIU/mL, and geriatric depression scale (GDS) <5, were eligible. Linear and logistic regression models, including testing for non-linearity, were performed. Sex strata were explored. Results: Of the total 1845 multiethnic US-participants, with a median age of 73 (IQR: 68, 78); 887 (48 %) were females, and 1056 (57 %) had MCI. The median TSH level was 1.70 µIU/mL (IQR: 1.15, 2.40); significantly lower in MCI than HC (1.66 vs. 1.74 µIU/mL, p-value=0.02). There was a significant association between TSH and overall cognition only in males (adj. ßMales=-0.40[-0.74, -0.07], p-value=0.019). The odds of being diagnosed with MCI at baseline decreased with higher TSH levels in the total study population (adj. ORTotal=0.87[0.79, 0.95], p-value=0.002) and in males (adj. ORMales=0.80[0.70, 0.92], p-value=0.001). Conclusions: There was a sex-specific, statistically significant association between TSH levels and cognition in multiethnic middle-aged and older ADNI adults. Lower TSH levels and worse global cognition were statistically associated only in males. To precisely delineate the chronological onset of these disorders, longitudinal clinical studies are needed.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950307825000761ThyroidAgingCognitionSex differenceHormoneNeuroendocrinology
spellingShingle Asma Hallab
Thyroid-stimulating hormone and cognitive impairment in non-depressed non-demented multiethnic middle-aged and older US adults: Assessing sex-specific risk prediction
Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics Plus
Thyroid
Aging
Cognition
Sex difference
Hormone
Neuroendocrinology
title Thyroid-stimulating hormone and cognitive impairment in non-depressed non-demented multiethnic middle-aged and older US adults: Assessing sex-specific risk prediction
title_full Thyroid-stimulating hormone and cognitive impairment in non-depressed non-demented multiethnic middle-aged and older US adults: Assessing sex-specific risk prediction
title_fullStr Thyroid-stimulating hormone and cognitive impairment in non-depressed non-demented multiethnic middle-aged and older US adults: Assessing sex-specific risk prediction
title_full_unstemmed Thyroid-stimulating hormone and cognitive impairment in non-depressed non-demented multiethnic middle-aged and older US adults: Assessing sex-specific risk prediction
title_short Thyroid-stimulating hormone and cognitive impairment in non-depressed non-demented multiethnic middle-aged and older US adults: Assessing sex-specific risk prediction
title_sort thyroid stimulating hormone and cognitive impairment in non depressed non demented multiethnic middle aged and older us adults assessing sex specific risk prediction
topic Thyroid
Aging
Cognition
Sex difference
Hormone
Neuroendocrinology
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950307825000761
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