[Association of vitamin D and cognitive disorders an older population of Amirkola]

ABSTRACT

Vitamin D receptors are widespread in brain tissue, and the active form of vitamin D has been documented for its neuroprotective effects. This study was conducted to determine the association between vitamin D level and cognitive disorders. This descriptive-analytical cross sectional study was conducted within the framework of the "Amikola Health and Aging Project [AHAP]", [2011-12], conducted on 1616 older people, aged>60 years in the city of Amirkola, Iran. Serum levels of vitamin D were measured in morning blood samples and mental status was investigated using Mini-Mental State Examination [MMSE]. Data was analyzed with T test, ANOVA and Chi-square, and P-values <0.05 were considered significant. The mean age of study participants was 68.81 +/- 7.1 years. Among them 509 [31.5%] had cognitive impairment and 1103 [68.4%] did not. There was significant association between serum vitamin D level and normal and abnormal MMSE in women [P=0.029], but not in men [P=0.49]. Mean serum vitamin D level in participants with normal MMSE was 34.45 +/- 32.79 ng/ml and in participants with abnormal MMSE was 32.80 +/- 29.39 ng/ml but this finding was not significant [P=0.31]. Serum vitamin D level in older persons with normal MMSE was higher than in those with abnormal MMSE, although it was not significant. In this study, there was no association between serum vitamin D levels in older people with or without cognitive impairment