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Age and Ageing Advance Access originally published online on May 20, 2008
Age and Ageing 2008 37(4):423-429; doi:10.1093/ageing/afn102
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Copyright © The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Geriatrics Society.

Albumin, haemoglobin, BMI and cognitive performance in older adults

Te-Pin Ng1,2, Lei Feng1,2, Mathew Niti1,2 and Keng Bee Yap1,3

1 Gerontological Research Programme, National University of Singapore
2 Department of Psychological Medicine, National University of Singapore
3 Department of Geriatric Medicine, Alexandra Hospital, Singapore

Address correspondence to: T-P. Ng. Tel: 65-67724518; Fax: 65-67772191. Email: pcmngtp{at}nus.edu.sg

Objectives: to examine the relationships between serum albumin, haemoglobin and body mass index (BMI) with cognitive performance among community-living older adults.

Method: design—population-based cross-sectional study; setting—local community in Southeast Region of Singapore; subjects—Chinese older adults aged 55 and above (N = 2, 550); measurements—serum albumin, haemoglobin, BMI and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE).

Results: in multivariable analyses controlling for gender, age, education and vascular risk factors, low albumin in the bottom quintile (OR 2.04; 95% CI 1.22–3.41) and low haemoglobin in the bottom quintile (OR 1.56; 95% CI 1.00–2.47) and low BMI with chronic comorbidity (OR 1.73; 95%CI 1.02–2.95) were independently associated with poor cognitive performance (MMSE ≤ 23). Among cognitively intact respondents (MMSE ≥ 24), albumin concentration showed a significant inverse linear relationship with MMSE scores (P for trend =0.002).

Conclusion: low albumin, low haemoglobin and low BMI (in the presence of chronic comorbidity) are independently associated with poor cognitive performance in community-living older adults.

Keywords: albumin, haemoglobin, anaemia, body mass index, cognition, elderly

Received 30 April 2007; accepted in revised form 5 February 2008.


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