Premium
P3‐064: Low vitamin B12 in the elderly is associated with cortical cognitive profile independently of hyperhomocysteinemia
Author(s) -
Baptista Gregory,
Geny Christian,
Jumentier Sabrina,
Thibon Cécile,
Cristol JeanPaul,
Jeandel Claude
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.713
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1552-5279
pISSN - 1552-5260
DOI - 10.1016/j.jalz.2011.05.1503
Subject(s) - vitamin b12 , quartile , medicine , hyperhomocysteinemia , homocysteine , cognition , vitamin d and neurology , endocrinology , psychology , psychiatry , confidence interval
Background: Vitamin B12 deficiency is relatively common among the elderly (2-20%). The alteration of cognitive functions during vitamin B12 deficiency is reported in the literature, however there is no data on neuropsychological profile. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between low vitamin B12 and marker of its metabolism (homocysteine), and cognitive profiles in older patients.Methods: 108 old patients of a french geriatric ambulatory unit were enrolled in the study. Cognitive profiles were determined on the basis of the results inMattis scale, RL/RI-16, Grober-Buschke items, and in the Trail Making Test. We determined plasmatic vitamin B12, vitamin B9, homocysteinemia, CRP, alphaacid glycoprotein, cholesterol in all patients. Results: 81.6 % of subjects had cognitive disorders. Their mean age was 79 years old. We found 21 patients with a cortical profile, 29 with a cortico-subcortical profile, 43 with a subcortical profile, and 15 subjects were normal. Olders with vitamin B12 in the first quartile (i.e. < 192.5 pmol / l) had cognitive impairment in 96.3% of cases, against 82.72% in higher quartiles. Patients with normal cognitive function had vitamin B12 lower to 192.5 pmol / l (first quartile) in 6.67% cases, versus 16.28% of patients with subcortical profiles, versus 34.48% of patients with mixed (cortical & subcortical) profile, versus 42.86% of patients with cortical profile. The multivariate analysis showed that plasmatic vitamin B12 in the lowest quartile (lower to 192.5 pmol / l) versus the highest quartiles, was significantly associated with a cortical profile (OR 1⁄4 12.57, p1⁄40.04), independently of homocysteinemia. Conclusions: In older adults, low vitamin B12 is associated with impairment in cortical cognitive functions, independently of homocysteine levels.