Relationship Between Serum Vitamins and Cognitive Impairment in the Elderly: A Study Based on the NHANES Database.

Serum vitamin D levels were inversely associated with cognitive disorder risk in elderly participants after adjusting for confounding factors.

• OR = 0.695, 95% CI: 0.534–0.905, p = 0.003
• Study included 2582 elderly participants aged 60 and older from NHANES 2011–2014
• Association remained robust after sensitivity analyses accounting for vitamin supplements and comorbidities such as depression and sleep disorders
• Weighted logistic regression was used for the primary analysis

Serum folic acid (FA) levels were inversely associated with cognitive disorder risk in elderly participants after adjusting for confounding factors.

• OR = 0.777, 95% CI: 0.604–0.999, p = 0.034
• Association remained robust after sensitivity analyses considering vitamin supplements and comorbidities
• In the WQS model, FA contributed the largest proportion (56.0%) to the overall protective effect on cognitive disorder risk
• Potential interaction effects were detected between vitamin B12 and FA

Vitamin B12 showed a U-shaped association with cognitive disorder risk.

• Both low and high levels of vitamin B12 were associated with increased cognitive disorder risk
• Sensitivity subgroup analyses focusing on high vitamin B12 levels were performed
• The association with high vitamin B12 was predominantly observed in individuals with specific metabolic conditions, including kidney stones and hypertension
• High vitamin B12 levels in specific metabolic patients may signal health risks

The BKMR model indicated that a low overall vitamin mixture level was associated with significantly increased cognitive impairment risk.

• A significant increase in cognitive impairment risk was observed when the overall vitamin mixture level fell below the 50th percentile
• Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) was used to assess the joint effect of the vitamin mixture
• The mixture included serum vitamin D, folic acid, and vitamin B12

Vitamin B12 and folic acid had potential interaction effects on cognitive disorder risk.

• Interaction effects among vitamins were specifically investigated as part of the analysis
• The interaction between B12 and FA was identified as a notable finding
• Vitamin B12 management was described as requiring greater precision in the context of FA-supplemented populations

The study analyzed data from 2582 elderly NHANES participants using multiple statistical models to assess the relationship between serum vitamins and cognitive impairment.

• Participants were aged 60 and older from the NHANES 2011–2014 cycles
• Analytical methods included weighted logistic regression, Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR), and weighted quantile sum (WQS) models
• Sensitivity analyses accounted for vitamin supplements, depression, and sleep disorders
• Subgroup analyses focused on participants with high vitamin B12 levels