Associations of circulating GDF15 with combined cognitive frailty and depression in older adults of the MARK-AGE study

Growth differentiation factor-15 (GDF15) might be involved in the development of cognitive frailty and depression. Therefore, we evaluated cross-sectional associations of plasma GDF15 with combined cognitive-frailty-and-depression in older (i.e. ≥ 55 years) and younger adults of the MARK-AGE study. In the present work, samples and data of MARK-AGE ("European study to establish bioMARKers of human AGEing") participants (N = 2736) were analysed. Cognitive frailty was determined by the global cognitive functioning score (GCF) and depression by the Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS score). Cross-sectional associations were determined by unadjusted and by age, BMI, sex, comorbidities and hsCRP-adjusted linear and logistic regression analyses. Cognitive frailty, depression, age and GDF15 were significantly related within the whole study sample. We conclude that plasma GDF15 concentrations are significantly associated with combined cognitive-frailty-and-depression status and, with cognitive frailty and depressive symptoms separately in old as well as young community-dwelling adults.

Kochlik B, Herpich C, Moreno-Villanueva M, Klaus S, Müller-Werdan U, Weinberger B, Fiegl S, Toussaint O, Debacq-Chainiaux F, Schön C, Bernhard J, Breusing N, Gonos ES, Franceschi C, Capri M, Sikora E, Hervonen A, Hurme M, Slagboom PE, Dollé MET, Jansen E, Grune T, Bürkle A, Norman K

Geroscience 2023 Sep 16. doi: 10.1007/s11357-023-00902-6. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37715843