Plasma antioxidants and cognitive performance in middle-aged and older adults: results of the Austrian Stroke Prevention Study.
OBJECTIVE
To study the association between cognitive status and plasma concentrations of various antioxidants in middle-aged and older individuals without neuropsychiatric disease.


METHODS
Evaluation of cross-sectional data from a cohort study.


METHODS
The Austrian Stroke Prevention Study.


METHODS
A total of 1769 subjects aged 50 to 75 years, with no history or signs of neuropsychiatric disease, selected randomly from the community register.


METHODS
The score on the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale (MDRS) was dichotomized according to age-and education-specific lowest quartile cut-off points. Reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography measurements of the plasma concentrations of lutein/zeaxanthin, cryptoxanthin, canthaxanthin, lycopene, alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, retinol, gamma-tocopherol, alpha-tocopherol, and ascorbate were measured.


RESULTS
Individuals with MDRS results below the lowest quartile cut-off point had lower levels of beta-carotene and alpha-tocopherol than their counterparts with test performance above this limit (0.44+/-.33 micromol/L vs 0.51+/-.48 micromol/L, P < .001; and 29.50+/-7.98 micromol/L vs 30.93+/-11.10 micromol/L, P < .001, respectively). Only alphatocopherol remained significantly associated with cognitive functioning when logistic regression analysis was used to adjust for possible confounders including age, sex, month of blood sampling, years of education, smoking, lipid status, and major risk factors for stroke (P = .019).


CONCLUSIONS
These observations are compatible with the view that some dietary antioxidants may protect against cognitive impairment in older people.
Schmidt
R
R
Department of Neurology, Karl-Franzens University Graz, Austria.
Hayn
M
M
Reinhart
B
B
Roob
G
G
Schmidt
H
H
Schumacher
M
M
Watzinger
N
N
Launer
L J
LJ
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000378:metabolism*; D001317:Austria; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003704:Dementia / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008609:Mental Status Schedule; D008875:Middle Aged; D012621:Seasons
D000975:Antioxidants