Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2016;50(4):1099-108.
doi: 10.3233/JAD-150811.

Vitamin D and Memory Decline: Two Population-Based Prospective Studies

Elżbieta Kuźma  1 , Maya Soni  1 , Thomas J Littlejohns  1   2 , Janice M Ranson  1 , Natasja M van Schoor  3 , Dorly J H Deeg  3   4 , Hannie Comijs  4 , Paulo H M Chaves  5 , Bryan R Kestenbaum  6 , Lewis H Kuller  7 , Oscar L Lopez  8 , James T Becker  8 , Kenneth M Langa  9 , William E Henley  1 , Iain A Lang  1 , Obioha C Ukoumunne  1 , David J Llewellyn  1
Affiliations
Review

Vitamin D and Memory Decline: Two Population-Based Prospective Studies

Elżbieta Kuźma et al. J Alzheimers Dis. 2016.

Abstract

Background: Vitamin D deficiency has been linked with dementia risk, cognitive decline, and executive dysfunction. However, the association with memory remains largely unknown.

Objective: To investigate whether low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations are associated with memory decline.

Methods: We used data on 1,291 participants from the US Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) and 915 participants from the Dutch Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (LASA) who were dementia-free at baseline, had valid vitamin D measurements, and follow-up memory assessments. The Benton Visual Retention Test (in the CHS) and Rey's Auditory Verbal Learning Test (in the LASA) were used to assess visual and verbal memory, respectively.

Results: In the CHS, those moderately and severely deficient in serum 25(OH)D changed -0.03 SD (95% CI: -0.06 to 0.01) and -0.10 SD (95% CI: -0.19 to -0.02) per year respectively in visual memory compared to those sufficient (p = 0.02). In the LASA, moderate and severe deficiency in serum 25(OH)D was associated with a mean change of 0.01 SD (95% CI: -0.01 to 0.02) and -0.01 SD (95% CI: -0.04 to 0.02) per year respectively in verbal memory compared to sufficiency (p = 0.34).

Conclusions: Our findings suggest an association between severe vitamin D deficiency and visual memory decline but no association with verbal memory decline. They warrant further investigation in prospective studies assessing different memory subtypes.

Keywords: Cognition; memory; prospective studies; vitamin D.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

References

    1. Balion C, Griffith LE, Strifler L, Henderson M, Patterson C, Heckman G, Llewellyn DJ, Raina P. Vitamin D, cognition, and dementia: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Neurology. 2012;79:1397–1405. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Etgen T, Sander D, Bickel H, Sander K, Forstl H. Vitamin D deficiency, cognitive impairment and dementia: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord. 2012;33:297–305. - PubMed
    1. Annweiler C, Dursun E, Feron F, Gezen-Ak D, Kalueff AV, Littlejohns T, Llewellyn DJ, Millet P, Scott T, Tucker KL, Yilmazer S, Beauchet O. ‘Vitamin D and cognition in older adults’: updated international recommendations. J Intern Med. 2015;277:45–57. - PubMed
    1. Littlejohns TJ, Kos K, Henley WE, Kuźma E, Llewellyn DJ. Vitamin D and dementia. J Prev Alz Dis in press. - PubMed
    1. Dickens AP, Lang IA, Langa KM, Kos K, Llewellyn DJ. Vitamin D, cognitive dysfunction and dementia in older adults. CNS Drugs. 2011;25:629–639. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types