TY - JOUR
T1 - Folate, vitamin B12, plasma thiols and cognitive function in an elderly population sample
AU - Roach, Paul D.
AU - NAUMOVSKI, Nenad
AU - Dufficy, Lisa
AU - Lucock, Mark David
AU - Blades, Barbara
AU - Lewis, Peter
AU - Sturm, Jonathon
AU - Veysey, Martin
PY - 2005
Y1 - 2005
N2 - Background - The plasma thiols, especially homocysteine (HCY), folate and vitamin B12 (VitB12) have been
implicated in the aetiology of cognitive impairment, anxiety and depression in the elderly.
Objective - The aim of the study was to determine whether there was a relationship between plasma thiols, folate and
VitB12 and the prevalence of cognitive impairment, anxiety and depression in a sample of 120 elderly subjects (67
females and 53 males), 65 years old and over, living in a NSW Central Coast retirement village.
Design - Cognitive impairment was assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) test and anxiety and
depression using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). The plasma thiols HCY, cysteine (CYS),
cysteinyl-glycine (CYS-GLY) and glutathione (GSH) were measured by high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC).
Serum folate and VitB12 and red cell folate were measured using automated specific binding assays.
Outcomes - The severity of anxiety (Pearson’s r = -0.290, P=0.035) and depression (Pearson’s r = -0.365, P=0.007) was
inversely related to the concentration of plasma CYS-GLY in males but not in females. In contrast, anxiety was inversely
related to the concentration of serum VitB12 in females (Spearman’s rs = -0.269, P=0.028) but not in males. There was
no relationship between the other thiols (including HCY) and folate with anxiety and depression (P>0.05). Cognitive
impairment was not related to any of the thiols or vitamins probably because cognitive impairment (MMSE score≤24)
was very low in this cohort (3 of the 120 subjects).
Conclusions - The observed HCY-independent association of CYS-GLY and VitB12 with anxiety and depression in this
cohort is a novel finding which may help shed some light on the development of these disorders in the elderly
AB - Background - The plasma thiols, especially homocysteine (HCY), folate and vitamin B12 (VitB12) have been
implicated in the aetiology of cognitive impairment, anxiety and depression in the elderly.
Objective - The aim of the study was to determine whether there was a relationship between plasma thiols, folate and
VitB12 and the prevalence of cognitive impairment, anxiety and depression in a sample of 120 elderly subjects (67
females and 53 males), 65 years old and over, living in a NSW Central Coast retirement village.
Design - Cognitive impairment was assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) test and anxiety and
depression using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). The plasma thiols HCY, cysteine (CYS),
cysteinyl-glycine (CYS-GLY) and glutathione (GSH) were measured by high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC).
Serum folate and VitB12 and red cell folate were measured using automated specific binding assays.
Outcomes - The severity of anxiety (Pearson’s r = -0.290, P=0.035) and depression (Pearson’s r = -0.365, P=0.007) was
inversely related to the concentration of plasma CYS-GLY in males but not in females. In contrast, anxiety was inversely
related to the concentration of serum VitB12 in females (Spearman’s rs = -0.269, P=0.028) but not in males. There was
no relationship between the other thiols (including HCY) and folate with anxiety and depression (P>0.05). Cognitive
impairment was not related to any of the thiols or vitamins probably because cognitive impairment (MMSE score≤24)
was very low in this cohort (3 of the 120 subjects).
Conclusions - The observed HCY-independent association of CYS-GLY and VitB12 with anxiety and depression in this
cohort is a novel finding which may help shed some light on the development of these disorders in the elderly
M3 - Meeting Abstract
SN - 0964-7058
VL - 14
SP - 49
JO - Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition
JF - Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition
ER -