Journal
JOURNALS OF GERONTOLOGY SERIES A-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES AND MEDICAL SCIENCES
Volume 65, Issue 12, Pages 1312-1321Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC
DOI: 10.1093/gerona/glq149
Keywords
Cognitive performance; Iron parameters; HFE; Longitudinal study; Older adults
Categories
Funding
- Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development [200110002]
- Sanquin Blood Bank [02-001]
- Wageningen University
- Top Institute Food and Nutrition
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Although iron homeostasis is essential for brain functioning, the effects of iron levels on cognitive performance in older individuals have scarcely been investigated. In the present study, serum iron parameters and hemochromatosis (HFE) C282Y genotype were determined in 818 older individuals who participated in a 3-year randomized, placebo-controlled double-blind trial examining the effects of folic acid on carotid intima-media thickness. All participants had slightly elevated homocysteine levels and were vitamin B12 replete. Cognitive functioning was assessed at baseline and after 3 years by means of a neuropsychological test battery. At baseline, increased serum ferritin was associated with decreased sensorimotor speed, complex speed, and information-processing speed and increased serum iron was associated with decreased sensorimotor speed. Cognitive performance over 3 years was not associated with HFE C282Y genotype or iron parameters. In conclusion, serum iron parameters do not show a straightforward relationship with cognitive functioning, although elevated iron levels may decrease cognitive speed in older individuals susceptible to cognitive impairment.
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