Trace element concentration and cognitive dysfunction in elderly residents in Birjand

Toba Kazemi; Mitra Moodi; Shahnaz Rajabi; Farshad Sharifi; Saeed Samarghandian; Masoumeh Khorashadizadeh; Tahereh Farkhondeh

doi:10.2174/1567205019666220913114154

Trace element concentration and cognitive dysfunction in elderly residents in Birjand

Curr Alzheimer Res. 2022 Sep 13. doi: 10.2174/1567205019666220913114154. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Toba Kazemi¹, Mitra Moodi², Shahnaz Rajabi³, Farshad Sharifi⁴, Saeed Samarghandian⁵, Masoumeh Khorashadizadeh², Tahereh Farkhondeh^{2

6}

Affiliations

¹ Cardiovascular Diseases Research Center, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran.
² Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Department of Health Promotion and Education, School of Health, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran.
³ Student Research Committee, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran.
⁴ Elderly Health Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Population Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
⁵ Healthy Ageing Research Centre, Neyshabur University of Medical Sciences, Neyshabur, Iran.
⁶ Department of Toxicology and Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran.

PMID: 36100996
DOI: 10.2174/1567205019666220913114154

Abstract

Trace elements were suggested to have a main role in modulating cognitive function. However, there are several controversial findings regarding the association between serum trace element concentration and cognitive function in patients with cognitive disorders. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the changes in serum trace element concentrations in elderly with cognitive dysfunction versus the participants with normal cognitive function. This cross-sectional study included 191 older adults over 60 years from Birjand County, Iran. Participants were assessed for cognitive performance and serum trace elements concentration including aluminum (AL), cobalt (Co), cadmium (Cd), Chrome (Cr), copper (Cu), Iron (Fe), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), selenium (Se) and zinc (Zn). Our findings showed no significant difference in the serum concentration of AL, Co, Cr, Zn, Fe, Mg, Mn, and Se of elderly with cognitive dysfunction versus the subjects with normal cognitive function. However, the concentration of Cu significantly increased in the serum of the elderly with cognitive dysfunction versus participants with normal function. In conclusion, our study indicated an increase in the serum concentration of Cu in the elderly with cognitive dysfunction in the sample of the Birjand Longitudinal Aging Study. However, due to the main limitations of our study including low sample size and cross-section design, these findings should be interpreted with caution.

Keywords: cognition; cognitive dysfunction; dementia; elderly; trace element.