Lars Backman, Sweden
Karolinska Institute Aging Research CenterAuthor Of 1 Presentation
METHYLATION STATUS AND SULFUR AMINO-ACIDS AS RISK FACTORS FOR COGNITIVE DECLINE OVER 15 YEARS: A LONGITUDINAL POPULATION BASED STUDY
Abstract
Aims
We aimed to investigate the association of serum vitamin B12, folate, and sulfur amino-acids with cognitive decline in a large sample of community dwelling older adults.
Methods
From the Swedish National Study of Aging and Care in Kungsholmen (SNAC-K), 2900 dementia-free individuals aged 60-102 years at baseline with comprehensive ssessments ncluding Mini-mental state examination (MMSE) scores were recruited. A total of 2202 participants underwent repeated MMSE assessments up to 5 occasions over 15-years. The association of baseline B12, holotranscobalamin, folate, homocysteine, methionine, cystathionine, cysteine, glutathione, and methylation status (defined as methionine/homocysteine ratio) with rate of cognitive decline was examined using linear-mixed-models.
Results
After adjusting for age, sex, education, creatinine, albumin, smoking status, systolic blood pressure, and APOEε4 status, raised baseline homocysteine and cysteine values were associated with faster rate of cognitive decline: for the highest quartile compared with the lowest, β coefficient and standard error (SE) were -0.0058 (0.002) for homocysteine (p=0.004) and -0.0051 (0.002) for cysteine (p=0.014) In contrast, a better methylation status was associated with less MMSE decline over 15 years: β (SE) was 0.0058 (0.002) for the highest quartile compared with the lowest (p=0.004). Furthermore, elevated methionine values tended to slow the rate of cognitive decline (p=0.079). No relationships were found for other sulfur amino acids, vitamin B12 or folate.
Conclusions
Markers of methylation status and raised cysteine values were related to more rapid cognitive decline over 15 years, suggesting that optimizing homocysteine, cysteine, and methionine values may be important in reducing the risk of cognitive decline.