Association between human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) and cognitive function in the elderly population in Shenzhen, China

• DOI: 10.1007/s40520-022-02170-4
• Publication Date: 2022-06-29T09:07:57Z
• Authors: Chao Huang; Wei Liu; Xiaohu Ren; Yuan Lv; Lu Wang; Jia Huang; Feiqi Zhu; Desheng Wu; Li Zhou; Xinfeng Huang; Jianjun Liu
• Keywords: Mini–Mental State Examination

Human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) is neurophilic, and its relationship with Alzheimer's disease (AD) remains controversial. This study aimed to examine the relationships between HHV-6 and cognitive abilities in elderly people aged 60 years or above from communities in Shenzhen.We recruited participants from 10 community health service centers in Shenzhen. Participants were divided into case and control groups according to Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scale standards and were included in this study with 1:1 matching based on sex and age (± 3 years). The HHV-6 gene was detected by real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR, and the HHV-6 copy number was quantified.A total of 580 participants (cases, n = 290; controls, n = 290), matched for gender and age was included in this study. A positive HHV-6 test was not associated with a significant difference in global cognitive performance (ORadjusted = 1.651, 95% CI = 0.671-4.062). After adjusting for gender, age, education, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) score, homocysteine (Hcy) and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), the results of multiple linear regression showed that there was a statistically negative correlation between HHV-6 copy number and orientation (βadjusted = -0.974, p = 0.013), attention and calculation (βadjusted = -1.840, p < 0.001), and language (βadjusted = -2.267, p < 0.001). The restricted cubic spline (RCS) model results showed that there was a nonlinear dose-response relationship between HHV-6 log10-transformed copies and orientation (poverall = 0.003, pnonliner = 0.045), attention and calculation (poverall < 0.001, pnonliner < 0.001), and language (poverall < 0.001, pnonliner = 0.016).HHV-6 infection significantly associated with orientation, attention and calculation, and language in elderly individuals.