Association Between Serum Neurofilament Light Chain and Cognitive Performance Among Older Adults in the United States: A Cross-Sectional Study

INTRODUCTION: Serum neurofilament light chain (sNfL) is an emerging biomarker of neuronal damage in several neurological disorders. Its association with cognitive function in the general US population aged 60 years and above is unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between sNfL and cognitive function in the general US population aged 60 and above. METHODS: The data were obtained from the 2013–2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), which include 506 individuals aged 60 or older who met our search criteria. In our study, sNfL levels were divided into two groups based on dichotomization (19.0 pg/mL). After adjusting for multiple covariates, it was found that the high sNfL group (≥ 19.0 pg/mL) had lower cognitive performance than the low sNfL group (< 19.0 pg/mL). This relationship was also stable in subgroup analysis. CONCLUSION: In this sample of an American elderly population, higher sNfL levels are correlated with lower cognitive performance. Our findings suggest that sNfL may become a potential screening tool for early prediction and confirmation of cognitive damage.