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Correlation Between Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D Level and Cognitive Function Among the Elderly in Enugu State, Nigeria

Received: 4 January 2022    Accepted: 19 January 2022    Published: 26 January 2022
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Abstract

Background: Low serum vitamin D is now implicated in many disease conditions among the elderly including cognitive impairment. Cognitive impairment is a common disease among elderly people causing much financial and social burden to the elderly, their families and caregivers. Therefore, the study aimed to determine the relationship between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentration and cognitive function among elderly people in Enugu State, South-eastern Nigeria. Methods: This was a cross-sectional survey of subjects aged ≥ 60 years with cognitive impairment in communities and old People’s home in Enugu State in Nigeria and age- and sex-matched controls. The subjects were further divided into those with severe cognitive impairment and those with mild cognitive impairment using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Serum 25(OH)D and parathyroid hormone (PTH) were assayed by enzyme-linked immune-sorbent assay while serum calcium, inorganic phosphate, and albumin were determined using the spectrophotometric method. Student t-test was used to compare mean values obtained, while Pearson correlation was used to determine relationships between continuous data. A p-value<0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Result: One hundred and four (104) patients comprising of 58 males and 46 females were recruited for the current study. Among the study subjects compared to those of the controls, there were significantly decreased levels of serum 25(OH)D (p=0.0001) and the adjusted calcium (p=0.0001) concentrations but significantly increased level of serum PTH (p=0.0001) and inorganic phosphate (p=0.005) concentrations. Also, the mean values of serum 25(OH)D and adjusted calcium were significantly lower, serum PTH values were significantly higher while serum inorganic phosphate concentrations showed no significant difference for those with severe cognitive impairment when compared to values of those with mild cognitive impairment and controls. Additionally, there was also significant positive correlations between serum 25(OH)D and cognitive function (r=0.504, ρ<0.05). Conclusion: The study findings suggest that decreased serum Vitamin D concentration is associated with diminished cognitive function among the elderly and vice versa. Hence, the determination of Vitamin D status among elderly patients presenting with impairment of cognitive function is highly recommended. However, further studies are needed to validate findings from the present study.

Published in Clinical Neurology and Neuroscience (Volume 6, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.cnn.20220601.12
Page(s) 6-13
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Elderly, Cognitive Function, Vitamin D, 25(OH)D

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Ezra Agbo, Ifeyinwa Nnakenyi, Collins Amadi, Chituru Orluwene, Chika Okwor, et al. (2022). Correlation Between Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D Level and Cognitive Function Among the Elderly in Enugu State, Nigeria. Clinical Neurology and Neuroscience, 6(1), 6-13. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cnn.20220601.12

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    ACS Style

    Ezra Agbo; Ifeyinwa Nnakenyi; Collins Amadi; Chituru Orluwene; Chika Okwor, et al. Correlation Between Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D Level and Cognitive Function Among the Elderly in Enugu State, Nigeria. Clin. Neurol. Neurosci. 2022, 6(1), 6-13. doi: 10.11648/j.cnn.20220601.12

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    AMA Style

    Ezra Agbo, Ifeyinwa Nnakenyi, Collins Amadi, Chituru Orluwene, Chika Okwor, et al. Correlation Between Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D Level and Cognitive Function Among the Elderly in Enugu State, Nigeria. Clin Neurol Neurosci. 2022;6(1):6-13. doi: 10.11648/j.cnn.20220601.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.cnn.20220601.12,
      author = {Ezra Agbo and Ifeyinwa Nnakenyi and Collins Amadi and Chituru Orluwene and Chika Okwor and Aloysius Aleke and Chidozie Agu},
      title = {Correlation Between Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D Level and Cognitive Function Among the Elderly in Enugu State, Nigeria},
      journal = {Clinical Neurology and Neuroscience},
      volume = {6},
      number = {1},
      pages = {6-13},
      doi = {10.11648/j.cnn.20220601.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cnn.20220601.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.cnn.20220601.12},
      abstract = {Background: Low serum vitamin D is now implicated in many disease conditions among the elderly including cognitive impairment. Cognitive impairment is a common disease among elderly people causing much financial and social burden to the elderly, their families and caregivers. Therefore, the study aimed to determine the relationship between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentration and cognitive function among elderly people in Enugu State, South-eastern Nigeria. Methods: This was a cross-sectional survey of subjects aged ≥ 60 years with cognitive impairment in communities and old People’s home in Enugu State in Nigeria and age- and sex-matched controls. The subjects were further divided into those with severe cognitive impairment and those with mild cognitive impairment using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Serum 25(OH)D and parathyroid hormone (PTH) were assayed by enzyme-linked immune-sorbent assay while serum calcium, inorganic phosphate, and albumin were determined using the spectrophotometric method. Student t-test was used to compare mean values obtained, while Pearson correlation was used to determine relationships between continuous data. A p-valueResult: One hundred and four (104) patients comprising of 58 males and 46 females were recruited for the current study. Among the study subjects compared to those of the controls, there were significantly decreased levels of serum 25(OH)D (p=0.0001) and the adjusted calcium (p=0.0001) concentrations but significantly increased level of serum PTH (p=0.0001) and inorganic phosphate (p=0.005) concentrations. Also, the mean values of serum 25(OH)D and adjusted calcium were significantly lower, serum PTH values were significantly higher while serum inorganic phosphate concentrations showed no significant difference for those with severe cognitive impairment when compared to values of those with mild cognitive impairment and controls. Additionally, there was also significant positive correlations between serum 25(OH)D and cognitive function (r=0.504, ρConclusion: The study findings suggest that decreased serum Vitamin D concentration is associated with diminished cognitive function among the elderly and vice versa. Hence, the determination of Vitamin D status among elderly patients presenting with impairment of cognitive function is highly recommended. However, further studies are needed to validate findings from the present study.},
     year = {2022}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Correlation Between Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D Level and Cognitive Function Among the Elderly in Enugu State, Nigeria
    AU  - Ezra Agbo
    AU  - Ifeyinwa Nnakenyi
    AU  - Collins Amadi
    AU  - Chituru Orluwene
    AU  - Chika Okwor
    AU  - Aloysius Aleke
    AU  - Chidozie Agu
    Y1  - 2022/01/26
    PY  - 2022
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cnn.20220601.12
    DO  - 10.11648/j.cnn.20220601.12
    T2  - Clinical Neurology and Neuroscience
    JF  - Clinical Neurology and Neuroscience
    JO  - Clinical Neurology and Neuroscience
    SP  - 6
    EP  - 13
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2578-8930
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cnn.20220601.12
    AB  - Background: Low serum vitamin D is now implicated in many disease conditions among the elderly including cognitive impairment. Cognitive impairment is a common disease among elderly people causing much financial and social burden to the elderly, their families and caregivers. Therefore, the study aimed to determine the relationship between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentration and cognitive function among elderly people in Enugu State, South-eastern Nigeria. Methods: This was a cross-sectional survey of subjects aged ≥ 60 years with cognitive impairment in communities and old People’s home in Enugu State in Nigeria and age- and sex-matched controls. The subjects were further divided into those with severe cognitive impairment and those with mild cognitive impairment using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Serum 25(OH)D and parathyroid hormone (PTH) were assayed by enzyme-linked immune-sorbent assay while serum calcium, inorganic phosphate, and albumin were determined using the spectrophotometric method. Student t-test was used to compare mean values obtained, while Pearson correlation was used to determine relationships between continuous data. A p-valueResult: One hundred and four (104) patients comprising of 58 males and 46 females were recruited for the current study. Among the study subjects compared to those of the controls, there were significantly decreased levels of serum 25(OH)D (p=0.0001) and the adjusted calcium (p=0.0001) concentrations but significantly increased level of serum PTH (p=0.0001) and inorganic phosphate (p=0.005) concentrations. Also, the mean values of serum 25(OH)D and adjusted calcium were significantly lower, serum PTH values were significantly higher while serum inorganic phosphate concentrations showed no significant difference for those with severe cognitive impairment when compared to values of those with mild cognitive impairment and controls. Additionally, there was also significant positive correlations between serum 25(OH)D and cognitive function (r=0.504, ρConclusion: The study findings suggest that decreased serum Vitamin D concentration is associated with diminished cognitive function among the elderly and vice versa. Hence, the determination of Vitamin D status among elderly patients presenting with impairment of cognitive function is highly recommended. However, further studies are needed to validate findings from the present study.
    VL  - 6
    IS  - 1
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Chemical Pathology, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu, Nigeria

  • Department of Chemical Pathology, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu, Nigeria

  • Department of Chemical Pathology, Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

  • Department of Chemical Pathology, Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

  • Department of Chemical Pathology, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu, Nigeria

  • Everight Diagnostic and Laboratory Services Ltd, Owerri, Nigeria

  • Everight Diagnostic and Laboratory Services Ltd, Owerri, Nigeria

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