Hacettepe University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Geriatric Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.
J Nutr Health Aging. 2012 Mar;16(3):220-4. doi: 10.1007/s12603-011-0351-7.
Deficiency of iron, which plays an important role in oxygen transport and storage, may lead to cerebral hypoxia and cognitive decline. This relationship which was studied in children and adults was not evaluated in the elderly. The objective of this study is to examine the effect of iron deficiency on cognitive function in the elderly.
DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS: This is a cross-sectional study conducted in a geriatric medicine outpatient clinic of a university hospital. Consecutive 2009 patients admitted to Geriatric Medicine outpatient clinic were examined and 622 patients who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were enrolled in the study.
Comprehensive geriatric assessment, cognitive assessment and laboratory analysis including blood count, iron, total iron binding capacity, ferritin, and transferrin saturation were performed.
Mean age of the study group was 72.5±6.5 and 439 (70.6%) were women. MMSE scores were moderately and significantly correlated with iron levels (r=0.33, p<0.001) and transferrin saturation (r=0.32, p<0.001). Transferrin saturation was significantly lower in the patients with dementia (p=0.040). It was found that patients with iron deficiency had lower MMSE scores (p<0.001) and this relationship was also present in patients without anemia (p=0.004).
The results of this study revealed a negative influence of iron deficiency on cognitive function and this influence was independent from the presence of anemia. As iron deficiency can be easily diagnosed and treated, detecting its effect on cognitive function is of importance. Screening for iron deficiency and initiating appropriate treatment should be a routine part of comprehensive geriatric assessment.
铁在氧气运输和储存中起着重要作用，其缺乏可能导致脑缺氧和认知能力下降。这种在儿童和成人中进行过研究的关系，在老年人中尚未得到评估。本研究的目的是检验铁缺乏对老年人认知功能的影响。
设计、地点、参与者：这是一项在大学医院老年医学门诊进行的横断面研究。对 2009 名入组老年医学门诊的连续患者进行了检查，并纳入了符合纳入标准的 622 名患者。
进行了全面的老年评估、认知评估和实验室分析，包括血常规、铁、总铁结合力、铁蛋白和转铁蛋白饱和度。
研究组的平均年龄为 72.5±6.5 岁，其中 439 名（70.6%）为女性。MMSE 评分与铁水平（r=0.33，p<0.001）和转铁蛋白饱和度（r=0.32，p<0.001）呈中度显著相关。痴呆患者的转铁蛋白饱和度显著降低（p=0.040）。研究发现，缺铁患者的 MMSE 评分较低（p<0.001），且这种关系在无贫血患者中也存在（p=0.004）。
本研究结果显示，铁缺乏对认知功能有负面影响，且这种影响独立于贫血的存在。由于铁缺乏可以很容易地诊断和治疗，因此检测其对认知功能的影响很重要。筛查铁缺乏并开始适当的治疗应该是全面老年评估的常规部分。
