Neuropsychological performance is positively associated with plasma albumin in healthy adults.
BACKGROUND
Albumin serves a range of physiological functions that are vital to overall brain and cognitive health. Indeed, associations between cognitive performance and albumin have been demonstrated in individuals with chronic liver or kidney disease and in patients with a high urinary excretion of albumin. However, an association of plasma albumin with cognitive performance has not been reported in otherwise healthy participants with clinically acceptable plasma albumin concentrations.


METHODS
This study utilized a wide-ranging neuropsychological test battery to investigate the relationship between cognitive performance and plasma albumin homeostasis in 222 healthy participants (143 females) between the ages of 43 and 84 years (mean 65 years).


RESULTS
Albumin both with and without the covariates of age, sex and acute-phase proteins was positively associated with enhanced performance on a range of neuropsychological domains including perceptual speed, Stroop and verbal ability. Albumin manifested generally positive but less robust associations with secondary and primary memory.


CONCLUSIONS
The results indicate that there is a positive association between albumin and cognitive performance in physiologically healthy participants free of chronic renal or liver disease.
School of Public Health, Curtin University, Perth, W.A., Australia.
Virginie
V
Lam
Matthew A
MA
Albrecht
Ryusuke
R
Takechi
Sayeh
S
Heidari-Nejad
Jonathan K
JK
Foster
John C L
JC
Mamo
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006262:Health; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D012709:Serum Albumin / Q000032:analysis / Q000502:physiology*
D012709:Serum Albumin