The ADeViD Study: Alzheimer’s Dementia and Vitamin D Study

Author Info

Alberto Castagna Carmen Ruberto Giovanni Ruotolo Giuseppe Attisani Laura Greco Raffaele Costa Rosa Paola Cerra

Corresponding Author

Alberto Castagna
Center for Cognitive Disorders and Dementia, Azienda Sanitaria Provinciale di Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy

A B S T R A C T

Introduction: Aging is associated with a large increase in the prevalence of hypovitaminosis D. 25- Hydroxyvitamin D, 25(OH)D, is the best indicator for vitamin D status. Its possible role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the leading cause of dementia in the elderly, is particularly important. The aim of the present study was to examine the association between 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) and cognitive functions in a group of Italian elderly patients affected with AD. Methods: We studied the relationship between 25(OH)D and cognitive functions assessed by MMSE (Mini Mental State Examination) in 150 consecutive elderly patients (F 76 %, age 78,66+ 6,05 years old) attending our Geriatric ambulatory for cognitive disorders with diagnosis of AD. Results: In our sample hypovitaminosis D was present in 100% of the screened patients; 111 patients (74%) had 25(OH)D serum levels inferior to 20 ng/ml; 39 (26%) patients had serum levels included between 20 and 30 ng/ml. After adjustment for age, gender, systolic blood pressure, education, cardiovascular diseases and antihypertensive treatment, a significant relationship was observed between 25(OH)D and cognitive status. MMSE appeared significantly higher in subjects with 25(OH)D serum levels ≥ 20 ng/ml than in those with 25(OH)D < 20 ng/ml (18,42+4,33 vs 12,22+4,44; p=0,000). Conclusion: Our results showed a relationship between 25(OH)D and cognitive impairment in patients with AD, suggesting that 25(OH)D could be involved in the onset of dementia.

Article Info

Article Type

Research Article

Publication history

Received: Sat 02, May 2020
Accepted: Sat 16, May 2020
Published: Sat 23, May 2020

Copyright

© 2023 Alberto Castagna. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Hosting by Science Repository.
DOI: 10.31487/j.NNB.2020.02.07