Correlation between Head Circumference and Cognition in the Elderly

OBJECTIVE: Head circumference (HC) has been reported to be an index of cognitive functioning in the elderly and in Alzheimer's patients. The object of the study is to find the relationship between HC and cognition. METHODS: A total of 7,603 subjects over 60 years of age were analyzed from preliminary data of Gwangju Dementia and Mild Cognitive Impairment Study. HC was manually measured and cognitive functioning was assessed by the Korean version of the Mini Mental State Examination (K-MMSE). RESULTS: Correlational analysis showed that HC was associated with age (r=-0.14, p<0.01), education (r=0.33, p<0.01), height (r=0.26, p<0.01), and K-MMSE (r=0.28, p<0.01). Also, even after adjusting for confounding variables (age, education, height, gender) the positive association between HC and K-MMSE score remained significant (beta=0.18, p<0.001). CONCLUSION: The results suggest that HC may play an important role in predicting cognitive impairment in the elderly.

The Effect of Subjective Physical and Mental Health on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to describe subjective physical and mental health assessed by the single item self-rated physical health (SRPH), and self-rated mental health (SRMH) had influence on the cognitive decline in community-dwelling elderly. METHODS: This study was based on the Suwon Project, a cohort comprising of non-random convenience samples of ethnic Koreans aged 60 years and above. 1,356 individuals were assessed at 2 time points 2 years apart for questionnaire which included demographic characteristics, medical history, Korean Mini-Mental State Examination (K-MMSE), Korean version of Geriatric Depression Scale (SGDS-K), SRPH, and SRMH. Multiple logistic regression was used to assess K-MMSE score change from the SRPH, and SRMH. RESULTS: At baseline, both SRPH (beta=0.18, p<0.01) and SRMH (beta=0.19, p<0.01) score positively associated with the K-MMSE score. At follow-up, subjects with baseline lower SRMH score had significantly greater decline in K-MMSE score (beta=0.09, p=0.007). However, baseline SRPH score showed no effect to follow up K-MMSE score before and after adjusting age, sex, education, number of chronic disease, SGDS-K, and baseline K-MMSE score (p=0.89). CONCLUSION: Brief and easily collected subjective mental health may predict the risk of cognitive decline, but subjective physical health may not.