Study suggests relation between vitamin D levels and cognitive decline in older people

Written By : Medha Baranwal |Medically Reviewed By : Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli Published On 2022-03-30T20:30:33+05:30 | Updated On 30 March 2022 8:39 PM IST

Italy: A recent study published in the journal Nutrients demonstrated an association between vitamin D levels and cognitive decline, irrespective of frailty status in community-dwelling older persons investigated for a suspected cognitive impairment.

Vitamin D appears to have a role in brain development, in the maintenance of cognitive abilities, and in frailty. Several studies have evaluated the interactions between vitamin D and cognitive impairment, the results however have been conflicting. Considering this, Beatrice Arosio, University of Milan, Milan, Italy, and colleagues described the association between vitamin D levels and cognitive decline and all-cause dementia evaluating frailty's contribution.

The study cohort included aged 64–92 years: 176 patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), 133 with mixed dementia (MD), 115 without cognitive decline, 59 with Alzheimer's Disease (AD), and 26 with idiopathic Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (iNPH). Frailty was measured by frailty index, and electrochemiluminescence immunoassays were used to measure serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations.

The research yielded the following findings:

A significant association was found between vitamin D levels and Mini-Mental State Examination independently of cognitive impairment, age, sex, and frailty.
The patients with dementia (AD and MD) showed the lowest vitamin D levels, while MCI patients showed higher levels than the other groups.
The most severe deficiency was observed in MD patients, the most aged as well as cognitively and functionally impaired.

"In this study, we observed an association between vitamin D levels and cognitive decline, regardless of frailty status, age and gender, in a cohort of community-dwelling older persons not taking vitamin D supplementation investigated for a suspected cognitive decline," the researchers wrote in their study.

One limitation of the study was that the MD patients were older, less literate, and frailer compared to the other groups. To compensate, the results were adjusted by age and FI.

Reference:

Arosio B, Rossi PD, Ferri E, Cesari M, Vitale G. Characterization of Vitamin D Status in Older Persons with Cognitive Impairment. Nutrients. 2022 Mar 8;14(6):1142. doi: 10.3390/nu14061142. PMID: 35334800.

KEYWORDS: vitamin D, cognitive impairment, older people, Beatrice Arosio, cognition, dementia, supplementation, supplements, Nutrients journal, aging, frailty, cognitive decline

vitamin Dcognitive impairmentdementiaNutrients journalcognitive decline

Source : Nutrients journal

Medha Baranwal

MSc. Biotechnology

Medha Baranwal joined Medical Dialogues as an Editor in 2018 for Speciality Medical Dialogues. She covers several medical specialties including Cardiac Sciences, Dentistry, Diabetes and Endo, Diagnostics, ENT, Gastroenterology, Neurosciences, and Radiology. She has completed her Bachelors in Biomedical Sciences from DU and then pursued Masters in Biotechnology from Amity University. She has a working experience of 5 years in the field of medical research writing, scientific writing, content writing, and content management. She can be contacted at editorial@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751

Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli

Dr Kamal Kant Kohli-MBBS, DTCD- a chest specialist with more than 30 years of practice and a flair for writing clinical articles, Dr Kamal Kant Kohli joined Medical Dialogues as a Chief Editor of Medical News. Besides writing articles, as an editor, he proofreads and verifies all the medical content published on Medical Dialogues including those coming from journals, studies,medical conferences,guidelines etc. Email: drkohli@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751