[A survey on serum homocysteine levels and cognitive function of the middle-aged and elderly persons in Tianjin city].
OBJECTIVE
To explore the serum homocysteine levels and cognitive function status of the middle-aged and elderly persons in Tianjin city in order to provide fundamental data for the nutritional intervention trial.


METHODS
The subjects between the ages of 55 and 94 years were randomly recruited in the study. The cognitive function of the subjects were evaluated by the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), and then screened the subjects with cognitive impairment (CI). Total homocysteine (tHcy) levels in fasting serum were measured by enzyme transition method, the correlation between tHcy levels and the cognitive function were statistically analyzed.


RESULTS
The mean of serum tHcy levels were (15.95 +/- 7.29) micromol/L, the prevalence of hyperhomocysteinemia (HHE) was 45.4%; and man had a higher rates than woman ( P < 0.001); the mean MMSE scores were (26.74 +/- 2.71) points, the prevalence of CI was 26.0%, and there were no significant differences between man and woman in CI prevalence. Cognitive function status was positively correlated with education and negatively correlated with age.


CONCLUSIONS
It was remarkable that higher prevalence of HHE and CI existed in the middle-aged and elderly persons.
Kong
Haiyan
H
West China School of Public Health, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China. dongdongable@163.com
Jiang
Yugang
Y
Huang
Chengyu
C
Fang
Hengtong
H
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006710:Homocysteine / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D020138:Hyperhomocysteinemia / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012494:Sampling Studies
D006710:Homocysteine