Homocysteine and cognitive function in healthy elderly Italian community dwellers

Elevated plasma total homocysteine concentrations (tHcy) are common in the elderly and may be a risk factor for dementia. In an elderly population, we examined the relationship between plasma tHcy and the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), a commonly used screening measure of cognitive impairment. Fasting plasma tHcy concentrations were measured in 650 healthy, cognitively normal Italian community-dwellers aged >= 65. Shortly, we found that hyperhocysteinemia has an independent association with concurrent cognitive impairment as measured by MMSE in healthy community-dwellers.