Robins Wahlin T B, Wahlin A, Winblad B, Bäckman L
Stockholm Gerontology Research Center, Olivecronas väg 4, Box 6401, 113 82, Stockholm, Sweden.
Biol Psychol. 2001 Jun;56(3):247-65. doi: 10.1016/s0301-0511(01)00079-5.
This study examined the relationship between low levels of serum vitamin B12 and folic acid (FA) and cognitive functioning in very old age. The four subsamples of non-demented persons aged 75-96 years - normal B12/normal FA; low B12/normal FA; normal B12/low FA; and low B12/low FA, were matched for age and education. A battery of cognitive tests was administered including Clock Tests, Block Design, Trail Making Tests (TMT), Digit Span, and tests of verbal fluency. Subjects with low levels of vitamins showed deficits in Block Design, TMT-B, Digit Span Backward, and letter fluency, but not in the remaining tests. In general, the effects of FA exceeded those of B12. This pattern of results was interpreted to mean that elderly persons with low vitamin levels have difficulty when fast and accurate processing of novel information is required, but are quite efficient in utilizing pre-existing knowledge structures.
本研究调查了血清维生素B12和叶酸（FA）水平较低与高龄老人认知功能之间的关系。选取了75 - 96岁非痴呆老人的四个子样本——正常B12/正常FA；低B12/正常FA；正常B12/低FA；以及低B12/低FA，并按年龄和教育程度进行匹配。进行了一系列认知测试，包括时钟测试、积木设计、连线测验（TMT）、数字广度以及语言流畅性测试。维生素水平低的受试者在积木设计、TMT - B、数字广度倒背和字母流畅性测试中表现出缺陷，但在其余测试中未出现。总体而言，叶酸的影响超过了维生素B12。这种结果模式被解释为意味着维生素水平低的老年人在需要快速准确处理新信息时存在困难，但在利用已有知识结构方面效率颇高。
