Estado nutricional e déficit cognitivo em idosos muito idosos residentes em comunidade no sul do Brasil

Abstract

Introduction: In the context of population aging, the age group that grows the most, proportionally, is the elderly over 80 years old (very elderly), which presents greater risks of cognitive deficit and nutritional deficiencies, which directly interfere with quality of life. Objectives: To verify the association between nutritional status and cognitive deficit among the very elderly. Methods: Cross-sectional population-based study. 153 elderly people aged 80 years or more (86±4 years) living in the city of Veranópolis, RS, were evaluated. The following were evaluated: cognitive function by the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Clock Drawing Test (TDR); nutritional status by the Mini Nutritional Assessment, anthropometric measurements and serum levels of albumin and vitamin B12. Socio-demographic data were obtained through a standardized questionnaire. Association analyzes were performed using multivariate analyses. Results: The prevalence of cognitive impairment was 47.7% (95% CI 39.7-55.7) by MMSE and 58.2% (95% CI 50.3-66.1) by TDR. In the adjusted analyses, cognitive deficit assessed by the MEEN was linearly and positively associated only with age. When assessed by TDR, cognitive deficit was 5 times greater among those with low serum vitamin B12 concentration. For the other variables, there was a positive association with being older, being widowed, having less education and using medications that act on the central nervous system. Being single, living with a child or living alone acted as protective factors for cognitive impairment. Conclusions: although the cognitive deficit in this population of very elderly has shown a positive association with advanced age, widowhood and low education, in relation to nutritional status, only the low serum concentration of vitamin B12 showed a positive association with cognitive deficit.