Vitamin D Deficiency and long-term cognitive impairment among older patients
answer
Cognitive impairment is a major concern among older patients. It is often caused by Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia, but it can also be caused by vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to depression, and research has shown that depression can lead to cognitive impairment. This study was conducted to demonstrate the relationship between vitamin D deficiency and long-term cognitive impairment among older patients.
Researchers analyzed the medical records of 2,964 older patients who were at risk for either cardiovascular disease or diabetes and had visited an outpatient clinic in the past year. They recorded their baseline levels of vitamin D and noted their cognitive abilities at the time of their first visit. The researchers then followed up with them after an average of eight years and found that 1,046 of these patients had developed cognitive impairment during this time period.
Researchers wanted to see whether patients’ levels of vitamin D affected their likelihood of developing cognitive impairment. They found that people with lower levels of vitamin D were almost twice as likely to develop cognitive impairment during the eight-year follow-up period as those with higher levels of vitamin D (odds ratio 1.91). In addition, they found that after adjusting for other variables such as age, sex, race, education level, smoking habit, body mass index (
question
Vitamin D Deficiency and long-term cognitive impairment among older patients