title: Serum Vitamin D Concentrations and Cognitive Function in a Population-Based Study among Older Adults in South Germany.
abstract: Our objective was to investigate the associations of vitamin D serum levels with dementia and cognitive function in specific domains in community dwelling older adults. Between 2009 and 2010, we conducted a cross-sectional study in 1,373 individuals (56% men) aged 65+ years in the "Activity and Function in the Elderly in Ulm" (ActiFE) study. Dementia was defined as a Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score ≤ 24. The 25-OHD serum level [ng/mL] was measured by an electrochemilumineszenz immunoassay (ECLIA). Logistic regression models were used to calculate odds ratios (OR)s for cognitive domains (cut-point: 10th percentile) by serum 25-OHD concentrations (both continuously and by cut-point of 20 ng/ml for vitamin D deficiency). Mean age of the study population was 75.6 (SD 6.6) years.We identified 75 participants (43% women) with dementia. 25-OHD concentrations were significantly lower in the participants with dementia compared to persons with a MMSE score >24. We also observed an association of continuous 25-OHD serum concentrations with prevalence of dementia (crude OR 1.05, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.01-1.08, p-value 0.009) per 1 ng/mL decrease, after adjustment the OR was 1.03, 95% CI, 0.995-1.08 (p-value 0.09). Although vitamin D deficiency was tentatively associated with severity of dementia measured by MMSE (OR 1.35, 95% CI, 0.84-2.19), the association was not statistically significant. However, deficits in specific cognitive domains such as executive functions, wordlist encoding, and visual memory (encoding and recall) were significantly associated with low vitamin D concentration. Our results suggest an association between vitamin D deficiency and cognitive function in specific domains in community dwelling older adults.
authors: Gabriele
authors: G
authors: Nagel
authors: Florian
authors: F
authors: Herbolsheimer
authors: Matthias
authors: M
authors: Riepe
authors: Thorsten
authors: T
authors: Nikolaus
authors: Michael D
authors: MD
authors: Denkinger
authors: Richard
authors: R
authors: Peter
authors: Gudrun
authors: G
authors: Weinmayr
authors: Dietrich
authors: D
authors: Rothenbacher
authors: Wolfgang
authors: W
authors: Koenig
authors: Albert C
authors: AC
authors: Ludolph
authors: Christine A F
authors: CA
authors: von Arnim
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003704:Dementia / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007118:Immunoassay; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D016017:Odds Ratio; D015995:Prevalence; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000097:blood*; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology
chemical_list: D014807:Vitamin D