Albumin, haemoglobin, BMI and cognitive performance in older adults

OBJECTIVES: to examine the relationships between serum albumin, haemoglobin and body mass index (BMI) with cognitive performance among community-living older adults. METHOD: design--population-based cross-sectional study; setting--local community in Southeast Region of Singapore; subjects--Chinese older adults aged 55 and above (N = 2, 550); measurements--serum albumin, haemoglobin, BMI and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). RESULTS: in multivariable analyses controlling for gender, age, education and vascular risk factors, low albumin in the bottom quintile (OR 2.04; 95% CI 1.22-3.41) and low haemoglobin in the bottom quintile (OR 1.56; 95% CI 1.00-2.47) and low BMI with chronic comorbidity (OR 1.73; 95%CI 1.02-2.95) were independently associated with poor cognitive performance (MMSE < or = 23). Among cognitively intact respondents (MMSE > or = 24), albumin concentration showed a significant inverse linear relationship with MMSE scores (P for trend =0.002). CONCLUSION: low albumin, low haemoglobin and low BMI (in the presence of chronic comorbidity) are independently associated with poor cognitive performance in community-living older adults.