Effect of haemoglobin deficiency on cognitive functions in elderly of Bangalore city

Adequate nutrition is fundamental to healthy ageing. Among older adults with anaemia, approximately one-third have evidence of iron, folate, and/or vitamin B deficiency. Lower haemoglobin levels are common in older adults and frequently are measured in clinical practice.1. To assess haemoglobin levels in elderly. 2. To assess cognitive functions in different levels of haemoglobin. This study involved 80 healthy elderly subjects with consideration of inclusion and exclusion criteria. Written informed consent was taken. For each subject, blood sample of 4ml was collected for Haemoglobin assessment. Anthropometric measurements were taken. 24-hour dietary recall, General history questionnaire and Spreen & Stauss Neuropsychology battery of tests were administered.Results were compiled and statistically analyzed. The results show that Elderly with haemoglobin deficiency had statistically significant low scores in all parameters (P < 0.05), especially with executive function & processing speed.It can be concluded that haemoglobin levels were associated with worse global cognitive function and greater decline in psychomotor speed and executive function.

Download Full-text

The generation of visual inferences in normal elderly Influence of schooling and visual complexity

Dementia & Neuropsychologia ◽

10.1590/s1980-57642010dn40300194 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 4 (3) ◽

pp. 194-201 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Ariella Fornachari Ribeiro ◽

Maria Isabel d'Ávila Freitas ◽

Márcia Radanovic ◽

Letícia Lessa Mansur

Keyword(s):

Visual Complexity ◽

The Other ◽

Elderly Subjects ◽

Healthy Elderly ◽

Group 3 ◽

Group 2 ◽

Level Group ◽

Different Levels ◽

Healthy Elderly Subjects ◽

Group 1

Abstract The generation of inferences makes the construction and comprehension of discourse easier, and integrates representations which add coherence to the arguments. Visuoperceptual and inferential deficits merge in the attempt to explain the difficulties that some individuals have in the comprehension of certain kinds of visual stimuli. Objectives: a) To examine the performance of cognitively healthy elderly subjects in the execution of visual inferences using pictures of different levels of complexity; b) To compare the performance of subjects according to schooling level. Methods: A total of 45 normal elderly aged from 61 to 82yrs (M=68; SD=0.57) were examined. The subjects were divided into three groups according to schooling level: Group 1 (1 to 4 years); Group 2 (5 to 8 years) and Group 3 (9 or more years). Each subject had to create a narrative based on four figures with controlled visual complexity. The narratives were transcribed, analysed and scored. Results: For the essential inferences, the high educated group (3) had a better performance in both visually simple and complex conditions. On the visually complex figures, the medium educated group (2) was statistically equivalent to the high educated group for one figure and equivalent to the less educated group (1) for the other. There was no difference among the groups for the accessory propositions. Conclusions: Visual complexity interferes with the subject's ability to make inferences in low and medium educated individuals. High educated subjects maintain the same performance in making inferences, regardless of the visual complexity level.

Download Full-text