Nutritional status and cognitive function in community-living rural Bangladeshi older adults: data from the poverty and health in ageing project.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the association between nutritional status and general and specific (fluid and crystallized) cognitive functioning in a group of older people living in a rural area in Bangladesh.


METHODS
Cross-sectional study.


METHODS
Matlab, Bangladesh.


METHODS
Four hundred fifty-seven randomly selected persons aged 60 and older (mean age 69.5 +/- 6.8), 55% female.


METHODS
Nutritional status was evaluated using a modified form of the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA). General cognitive function was assessed using the Bangla Adaptation of the Mini-Mental State Examination, and a word synonym test was used to test semantic memory function (a crystallized ability). To assess cognitive processing speed (a fluid ability), "cross balls" and "complete boxes" tests (scores/time unit) were used. Clinical diagnoses were registered. Structured questionnaires were used to assess demographic and socioeconomic status of the participants.


RESULTS
Twenty-six percent of the participants were undernourished, and 62% were at risk of malnutrition according to the MNA. The MNA scores were significantly lower in women than in men (P=.01). Women performed worse than men in all three cognitive tasks (P<.001). Poorer cognitive performance was independently associated with older age, female sex, illiteracy, visual impairment, severity of disease, and depressive symptoms. There were significant associations between better nutritional status and better cognitive performance tests of general ability and processing speed, whereas semantic memory appeared to be less affected.


CONCLUSIONS
The association between nutritional status and cognitive function involves general and specific cognitive abilities, with fluid ability seeming to be affected but crystalized functions being relatively spared.
Ferdous
Tamanna
T
Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism, Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden. tamanna.ferdous@pubcare.uu.se
Cederholm
Tommy
T
Kabir
Zarina Nahar
ZN
Hamadani
Jena Derakhshani
JD
Wahlin
Ake
A
D000368:Aged; D001459:Bangladesh; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D057187:Independent Living; D008297:Male; D009752:Nutritional Status; D012424:Rural Population; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires