Inflammatory responses are associated with the development of vascular dementia (VaD). Circulating cytokines modulate the inflammatory response and are important for the immune system. To further elucidate the role of the immune system in VaD, we used Mendelian randomization (MR) to comprehensively and bi-directionally assess the role of circulating cytokines in VaD.

Using state-of-the-art genome-wide association studies, we primarily assessed whether different genetic levels of 41 circulating cytokines affect the risk of developing VaD and, in turn, whether the genetic risk of VaD affects these circulating cytokines. We used inverse variance weighting (IVW) and several other MR methods to assess the bidirectional causality between circulating cytokines and VaD, and performed sensitivity analyses.

Tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) was inversely associated with VaD risk [odds ratio (OR): 0.74, 95 % confidence interval (CI): 0.60–0.92, P = 0.007, 0.007]. VaD was associated with seven circulating cytokines: macrophage inflammatory protein 1b (MIP-1 beta) [OR: 1.05, 95 % CI: 1.01–1.08, P = 0.009], Interleukin-12p70 (IL-12) [OR: 1.04, 95 % CI: 1.00–1.08, P = 0.047], Interleukin-17 (IL-17) [OR: 1.04, 95 % CI: 1.00–1.07, P = 0.038], Interleukin-7 (IL-7) [OR: 1.07, 95 % CI: 1.02–1.12, P = 0.009], Interferon gamma (IFN-γ) [OR: 1.03, 95 % CI: 1.00–1.07, P = 0.046], Granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (GCSF) [OR: 1.06, 95 % CI: 1.02–1.09, P = 0.001], Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) [P = 0.001], and Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) [P = 0.001]. Fibroblast growth factor basic (FGF-Basic) [OR: 1.04, 95 % CI: 1.01–1.08, P = 0.02] were positively correlated.

Circulating cytokines are associated with VaD, and further studies are needed to determine whether they are effective targets for intervention to prevent or treat VaD.