John M Starr — Page 3 | PubMed Health

PubMed2002

Magnetic resonance spectroscopy and cognitive function in healthy elderly men.

Subtle cognitive decrements in older people are important in terms of the associated morbidity and as a risk factor for dementia. However, their pathophysiological basis is poorly understood. Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H-MRS) may provide the means to investigate early changes in brain metabolite concentrations. We examined the relationships between N-acetylaspartate (NAA), choline (Cho) and creatine (Cr) metabolite ratios in a voxel in the parietal cortex and cognitive function in 88 healthy, non-demented, unmedicated men aged 65-70 years. We also used linear regression to give a value for each metabolite adjusted for the levels of the other two metabolites. Both NAA/Cr and Cho/Cr ratios correlated positively with tests of verbal memory and a verbal memory factor (e.g. NAA/Cr and Logical Memory: r = 0.24, P < 0.05). Cho/Cr ratios also correlated positively with tests of visual memory (e.g. visual reproduction: r = 0.21, P < 0.05). Adjusted Cr levels correlated negatively and significantly with tests of verbal memory and the Verbal Memory Factor. The regression analysis suggested that Cr levels better explained the correlations between NAA/Cr and Cho/Cr ratios and cognitive variables than NAA or Cho levels. These results suggest that in healthy men aged 65-70 years, metabolite levels relate to cognitive performance. Rising Cr levels may be an early marker of cognitive decline.

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Childhood IQ, social class, deprivation, and their relationships with mortality and morbidity risk in later life: prospective observational study linking the Scottish Mental Survey 1932 and the Midspan studies.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate how childhood mental ability (IQ) is related to mortality and morbidity risk, when socioeconomic factors are also considered. METHODS: Participants were from the Midspan studies conducted on adults in the 1970s; 938 Midspan participants were successfully matched with the Scottish Mental Survey 1932 in which children born in 1921 and attending Scottish schools on June 1, 1932, took a cognitive ability test. Mortality, hospital admissions, and cancer incidence in the 25 years after the Midspan screening were investigated in relation to childhood IQ, social class, and deprivation. RESULTS: The risk of dying in 25 years was 17% higher for each standard deviation disadvantage in childhood IQ. Adjustment for social class and deprivation category accounted for some, but not all, of this higher risk, reducing it to 12%. Analysis by IQ quartile showed a substantial increased risk of death for the lowest-scoring quarter only. Structural equation modeling indicated that the effect of childhood IQ on mortality was partly indirectly influenced by social factors. Cause-specific mortality or hospital admission showed that lower IQ was associated with higher risks for all cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease. Cause-specific mortality or cancer incidence risk was higher with decreasing IQ for lung cancer. CONCLUSIONS: Lower childhood IQ was related to higher mortality risk and some specific causes of death or morbidity. Childhood IQ may be considered as a marker for risk of death or illness in later life in similar and complementary ways to social class or deprivation category.

Adult↗