Subject Area
Psychology, Clinical
Abstract
Asthma, age, and overall inflammation have been implicated in cognitive decline. This study examined the relationship between asthma, age, and systemic inflammatory cell activation with cognitive performance among middle-aged and older adults. Participants (N = 132; 72 asthma, 60 controls) completed neuropsychological tests assessing executive control, episodic memory, and processing speed. Blood samples were analyzed for neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and absolute eosinophil count as markers of inflammation. Multivariate multilevel models tested whether higher inflammation predicted poorer cognition, and whether these associations differed by asthma status. Results indicate that neither inflammatory marker were significantly associated with cognitive performance for either group. Participants with asthma demonstrated better overall cognitive performance than controls, particularly in episodic memory. Additionally, older age was found to be associated with poorer cognitive performance overall, however in the control group age was more strangely associated with poor performance than the asthma group. Within the asthma subgroup respiratory medications were not significantly related to cognition. Findings suggest that in a sample with inflammation levels within normal ranges, systemic inflammatory cell activation is not associated with cognitive performance. Enhanced memory performance among asthma participants may reflect indirect benefits of disease management or pro-health behaviors. Future work should aim to include samples with more diverse asthma manifestations, additional inflammatory biomarkers (e.g., CRP, cytokines), and broader socioeconomic representation to better clarify mechanisms linking inflammation, asthma, and cognitive aging.
Degree Date
Winter 2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.A.
Department
Psychology
Advisor
Thomas Ritz
Number of Pages
48
Format
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Recommended Citation
Hall, Windsor G., "Investigating Differences in Cognitive Function Between Middle to Older Age Adults With and Without Asthma" (2025). Psychology Theses and Dissertations. 66.
https://scholar.smu.edu/hum_sci_psychology_etds/66
Included in
Clinical Psychology Commons, Cognition and Perception Commons, Health Psychology Commons, Respiratory Tract Diseases Commons
