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Iron Status is Related to Cognitive Performance: A Longitudinal Analysis of Data from the InCHIANTI Study
Author(s) -
Chen Lenis,
Patel Kushang V.,
MurrayKolb Laura E.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.27.1_supplement.346.8
Subject(s) - medicine , cognition , effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance , longitudinal study , gerontology , demography , psychiatry , pathology , sociology
Iron deficiency and cognitive performance are global concerns, but longitudinal analyses of their relation in the elderly are almost nonexistent. This study's aim is to investigate the relation between iron status, characterized by multiple blood measures, and cognitive performance in the elderly over time (n= 1153, male (502), female (651); baseline age=65–102 y). Data is from InCHIANTI, an Italian study of elderly mobility. Iron measures include a complete blood count, ferritin, and transferrin receptor and are used to categorize individuals as iron deficient anemic (IDA), iron deficient (ID), iron sufficient (IS), or iron overload (IO). Cognitive measures include the Mini‐Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Trail Making Test (TMT) A and B, each measured four times over 10 years. Longitudinal analyses using GEE and Tobit models yield a lower MMSE score in IDA compared to IS individuals (p<0.05) and a slower TMT A score in ID compared to IS individuals (p<0.05), controlling for demographics, smoking, and alcohol. Tobit models also yield a slower TMT B score in IDA compared to IS individuals (p<0.05), controlling for TMT A, demographics, smoking, alcohol, nutritional factors, depressive symptoms, and selected medical conditions. In sum, poor iron status may put some elderly at risk for cognitive decline. The importance of screening and treating poor iron status may be critical to elderly cognitive health. Grant Funding Source : This research was supported in part by the Intramural Research Program of the National Institute on Aging, NIH, and a Procter & Gamble Dissertation Research Award