Normative data for elderly adults: the Maine-Syracuse study.

The primary objective of this study was to provide supplementary normative data on aging and cognition from an ongoing community-based study. This dementia- and stroke-free sample (age range = 70-89; mean = 77.5) consisted of 228 women and 155 men participating in the Maine-Syracuse Longitudinal Study at waves 6 to 7 (2001-2009). The authors employed a battery of 23 widely utilized clinical cognitive tests. In this cross-sectional study, the authors focus on subjects 70 to 79 (n = 248) and 80 to 89 (n = 135) years old, and provide preliminary data for a smaller number of subjects aged 90 to 98 years old (n = 14). More highly educated and younger participants exhibited better performance on cognitive tests. Education was not significantly associated with every cognitive outcome, nor was age cohort membership. The addition of cardiovascular disease (CVD)/health variables to a model including age, education, and gender main effects provided statistically significant increases in R² (range = .021-.084) of performance on some tests. Results are discussed in relation to this study's value with respect to determining cognitive impairment in individuals free from probable dementia or stroke.

Homocysteine and cognitive performance: modification by the ApoE genotype.

We hypothesized that the magnitude of the association between plasma homocysteine concentration and cognitive performance is larger for ApoE-epsilon4 carriers than for non-carriers. Nine hundred eleven dementia-free and stroke-free subjects (59% women) from the Maine-Syracuse study (26-98 years old) were stratified into no-ApoE-epsilon4 (n=667) and ApoE-epsilon4 carrier (n=244) cohorts. Employing a cross-sectional design and multiple regression analyses, plasma homocysteine was related to multiple domains of cognitive performance within these cohorts. When unadjusted, and with adjustment for age, education, gender, ethnicity, and previous cognitive examinations, homocysteine concentrations were inversely related to cognitive performance within both ApoE cohorts, with higher magnitude of associations within the ApoE-epsilon4 cohort. With adjustment for cardiovascular disease risk factors, cardiovascular disease, and B-vitamin concentrations, the higher magnitude of associations between plasma homocysteine and cognitive performance within the ApoE-epsilon4 cohort relative to the no-ApoE-epsilon4 cohort persisted; but associations of plasma homocysteine and cognitive performance were attenuated and no longer significant within the no-ApoE-epsilon4 cohort. Presence of the ApoE-epsilon4 allele modifies the relation between plasma homocysteine and cognitive performance.

Cognitive performance and age: norms from the Maine-Syracuse Study.

The primary objective of this study was to provide contemporary normative data on aging and cognition from an ongoing community-based study. This dementia and stroke-free sample (age range = 20-79; mean = 53) consisted of 623 women and 322 men participating in the Maine-Syracuse Longitudinal Study at waves 4 to 6 (1993 to 2003). We employed a battery of 22 widely utilized cognitive tests. A 5 (age) x 3 (education) x 2 (gender) analysis of variance indicated that, in general, higher educated and younger participants exhibited better performance on cognitive tests. We found education group to be the strongest, and gender to be the weakest, predictor of cognitive performance. However, education cohort was not significantly associated with every cognitive outcome, nor was age cohort membership. The addition of cardiovascular disease health variables to a model including age, education, and gender groupings provided statistically significant, but modest, increases in prediction of performance on some tests. Results are discussed in relation to findings for previous studies presenting normative data on cognitive ability as a function of age, education, and gender.

Homocysteine, folate, and vitamins B6 and B12 blood levels in relation to cognitive performance: the Maine-Syracuse study.

OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to examine associations among plasma homocysteine concentrations (tHcy), the tHcy-cofactors (folate, vitamins B6 and B12), and multiple domains of cognitive performance, with statistical adjustment for possible confounds, including cardiovascular disease risk factors (CVD-RF) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). METHODS: Subjects were 812 participants (58% women) of the Maine-Syracuse study who were free of dementia and stroke. Employing a cross-sectional design and multiple regression analyses, fasting concentrations of tHcy and its vitamin cofactors (folate, B6, and B12) were related to multiple domains of cognitive performance. RESULTS: With adjustment for age, education, gender, ethnicity, and the vitamins, tHcy was inversely associated with visual-spatial organization, working memory, scanning-tracking, and abstract reasoning. The same results were found with adjustment for age, education, gender, ethnicity, CVD-RF, and CVD. Vitamin cofactors were positively related to cognitive performance, but with adjustment for CVD-RF and CVD, only vitamin B6 was related to multiple cognitive domains. CONCLUSIONS: The inverse association of tHcy with multiple domains of cognitive functioning is not necessarily dependent on vitamin levels, vitamin deficiency, prevalent CVD risk factors, and manifest CVD. Serum folate, serum B12, and plasma B6 vitamin concentrations are positively associated with cognitive performance. Investigation of other possible mechanisms (e.g., tHcy neurotoxicity) mediating tHcy associations with cognitive performance is important, as are clinical trials examining the efficacy of folate, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12 for maintenance of cognitive functioning.

Homocysteine, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and cognitive performance: The Maine-Syracuse Study.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus and higher total plasma homocysteine concentrations are each associated with an increased incidence of cardiovascular disease and with diminished cognitive performance. Relations between homocysteine concentrations and cardiovascular disease incidence are stronger in the presence of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Therefore, we hypothesized that relations between homocysteine concentrations and cognitive performance would be stronger in the presence of type 2 diabetes. We related homocysteine concentrations and cognitive performance on the Mini-Mental State Examination in 817 dementia- and stroke-free participants of the Maine-Syracuse Study, 90 of whom were classified with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Regardless of statistical adjustment for age, sex, gender, vitamin co-factors (folate, vitamin B6, vitamin B12), cardiovascular disease risk factors, and duration and type of treatment for type 2 diabetes mellitus, statistically significant inverse associations between homocysteine concentrations and cognitive performance were observed for diabetic individuals. The weaker inverse associations between homocysteine concentrations and cognitive performance obtained for non-diabetic individuals were not robust to statistical adjustment for some covariates. Interactions between homocysteine concentrations and type 2 diabetes mellitus are observed such that associations between homocysteine and cognitive performance are stronger in the presence of diabetes.