Vitamin D and mental agility in elders
June 25th, 2010 in Medicine & Health / Health
At a time when consumer interest in health-enhancing foods is high,
Agricultural Research Service (ARS)-funded scientists have contributed
to a limited but growing body of evidence of a link between vitamin D
and cognitive function.
Cognitive function is measured by the level at which the brain is able
to manage and use available information for activities of daily life.
Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of age-related dementia,
affects about 47 percent of adults aged 85 years or older in the
United States. Identifying nutritional factors that lower cognitive
dysfunction and help preserve independent living provides economic
and public health benefits, according to authors.
The study, which was supported by ARS, the National Institutes of Health,
and others, was led by epidemiologist Katherine Tucker with the Jean Mayer
USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) at Tufts University
in Boston, Mass. Tucker collaborated with HNRCA laboratory directors Irwin
Rosenberg, Bess Dawson-Hughes and colleagues.
Metabolic pathways for vitamin D have been found in the hippocampus and
cerebellum areas of the brain involved in planning, processing, and forming
new memories. This suggests that vitamin D may be implicated in cognitive
processes.
The study involved more than 1,000 participants receiving home care. The
researchers evaluated associations between measured vitamin D blood
concentrations and neuropsychological tests. Elders requiring home care
have a higher risk of not getting enough vitamin D because of limited
sunlight exposure and other factors.
The participants, ages 65 to 99 years, were grouped by their vitamin D
status, which was categorized as deficient, insufficient, or sufficient.
Only 35 percent had sufficient vitamin D blood levels. They had better
cognitive performance on the tests than those in the deficient and
insufficient categories, particularly on measures of "executive performance,"
such as cognitive flexibility, perceptual complexity, and reasoning. The
associations persisted after taking into consideration other variables that
could also affect cognitive performance.
The 2009 study appears in the Journals of Gerontology, Series A, Biological
Sciences and Medical Sciences.
Provided by United States Department of Agriculture
"Vitamin D and mental agility in elders." June 25th, 2010.
http://www.physorg.com/news196687285.html
June 25th, 2010 in Medicine & Health / Health
At a time when consumer interest in health-enhancing foods is high,
Agricultural Research Service (ARS)-funded scientists have contributed
to a limited but growing body of evidence of a link between vitamin D
and cognitive function.
Cognitive function is measured by the level at which the brain is able
to manage and use available information for activities of daily life.
Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of age-related dementia,
affects about 47 percent of adults aged 85 years or older in the
United States. Identifying nutritional factors that lower cognitive
dysfunction and help preserve independent living provides economic
and public health benefits, according to authors.
The study, which was supported by ARS, the National Institutes of Health,
and others, was led by epidemiologist Katherine Tucker with the Jean Mayer
USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) at Tufts University
in Boston, Mass. Tucker collaborated with HNRCA laboratory directors Irwin
Rosenberg, Bess Dawson-Hughes and colleagues.
Metabolic pathways for vitamin D have been found in the hippocampus and
cerebellum areas of the brain involved in planning, processing, and forming
new memories. This suggests that vitamin D may be implicated in cognitive
processes.
The study involved more than 1,000 participants receiving home care. The
researchers evaluated associations between measured vitamin D blood
concentrations and neuropsychological tests. Elders requiring home care
have a higher risk of not getting enough vitamin D because of limited
sunlight exposure and other factors.
The participants, ages 65 to 99 years, were grouped by their vitamin D
status, which was categorized as deficient, insufficient, or sufficient.
Only 35 percent had sufficient vitamin D blood levels. They had better
cognitive performance on the tests than those in the deficient and
insufficient categories, particularly on measures of "executive performance,"
such as cognitive flexibility, perceptual complexity, and reasoning. The
associations persisted after taking into consideration other variables that
could also affect cognitive performance.
The 2009 study appears in the Journals of Gerontology, Series A, Biological
Sciences and Medical Sciences.
Provided by United States Department of Agriculture
"Vitamin D and mental agility in elders." June 25th, 2010.
http://www.physorg.com/news196687285.html
