Interleukin-1 alpha (rs1800587) genetic polymorphism is associated with specific cognitive functions but not depression or loneliness in elderly males without dementia

•A cohort of non-demented Chinese elderly male was genotyped for IL-1A rs1800587 SNP.•The T allele of IL-1A rs1800587 genetic polymorphism is associated with better cognitive function in the elderly.•Genetic variation in IL-1A plays a role in the aged cognitive function.

Inflammatory process is considered to be a pathway that results in neurodegeneration, and numerous plasma cytokines have been examined for their association with cognitive function and depression. Interleukin-1 alpha (IL-1A) genetic polymorphism (rs1800587) has been found to be associated with Alzheimer's disease susceptibility. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of IL-1A rs1800587 genetic effects on cognitive functions, loneliness and depression severity in elderly males without dementia or major depression. 192 non-demented Chinese elderly male were recruited and underwent Cognitive Abilities Screening Instrument (CASI), Wechsler Digit Span Task, Geriatric Depression Scale-short form, and UCLA Loneliness Scale assessment. IL-1A rs1800587 is a C to T transition at position −889. Compared to the C/C carriers, the T allele carriers had significantly overall higher CASI score (p = 0.017) after using age and total education years as co-variates. This was especially true in the four distinct domains of long-term memory (p < 0.001), orientation (p = 0.017), visual construction (p = 0.003), and list-generating fluency (p = 0.020). This polymorphism is not associated with Geriatric Depression Scale-short form or UCLA Loneliness Scale. Our data supports that the T allele of IL-1A rs1800587 genetic polymorphism is associated with better cognitive function in the elderly. Further research will be needed to better understand the molecular mechanism for IL-1A genetic effects on cognitive function in the elderly.