Higher baseline serum uric acid is associated with poorer cognition but not rates of cognitive decline in women

Serum uric acid is a powerful antioxidant that may have neuroprotective properties. While some studies have found that greater serum uric acid is associated with better cognition in older adults, it is also associated with numerous vascular risk factors that increase risk for dementia. Women may also be particularly vulnerable to the vascular effects of elevated uric acid. We previously found that mildly elevated serum uric acid is a biomarker of cognitive dysfunction in older adults, and that this likely is mediated by cerebral ischemic burden. Here we examine both cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between serum uric acid and declines in cognition and functioning in 423 cognitively healthy community-dwelling older women in the Women's Health and Aging Study (WHAS II). We hypothesized that higher serum uric acid would be associated with poorer concurrent functioning and greater declines over 9 years. In linear regression analyses, higher baseline serum uric acid was associated with poorer working memory, with a trend toward slower manual speed and dexterity before and after adjusting for baseline serum uric acid, demographic and health/cardiovascular variables. However, there were no associations for global cognitive functioning, learning/memory, sequencing, verbal fluency, or visuoconstruction. Mixed effects models also revealed no association with subsequent cognitive declines. Future research should examine changes in serum uric acid at earlier periods in the lifespan and their relationships with later cognitive declines.