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Topical Area: Aging and Chronic Disease

Aging and Chronic Disease (Poster Session)

(P23-035-23) Calcium and Vitamin D Intake and Cognitive Function in U.S. Older Adults

Monday, July 24, 2023
11:45 AM – 12:45 PM ET
Location: Poster Board 34

    Presenting Author(s)

  • Halli Heimbuch

    Student
    North Dakota State University
    Moorhead, Minnesota, United States

    • Co-Author(s)

  • Kelly Parker, PhD (she/her/hers)

    Postdoctoral Research Fellow
    North Dakota State University
    Fargo, North Dakota, United States

  • YR

    Yeong Rhee, PhD RD

    Professor and Department Head
    North Dakota State University
    Fargo, North Dakota, United States

Disclosure(s):
Halli Heimbuch: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.
Kelly Parker, PhD: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.


Objectives: Cognition and bone health are interrelated in older adults. Cognition is associated with bone mineral density (BMD), a key bone health indicator. Diet is a modifiable factor of this relationship. Essential for bone health, calcium and vitamin D may also play a role in cognition. This study examined if cognition in older adults was related to calcium and vitamin D intake.

Methods: Participants (N=36) aged 70.8 ± 5.7 years were assigned into control (n=18) or intervention groups (n=18). Intervention participants gardened and attended nutrition sessions on ways to boost fruit and vegetable intake and physical activity. Cognition was assessed at the pre- and post-assessments with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). Calcium and vitamin D intake were measured using three, 3-day food logs. Pearson correlations were run to measure relationships between mean calcium and vitamin D intake with overall cognition and MoCA subdomains. T-tests were run to assess mean differences in calcium and vitamin D intake and MoCA scores.

Results: Pearson correlations showed no significant relationship between mean calcium intake and final MoCA score or between mean vitamin D intake and final MoCA score. However, there were significant correlations between mean calcium intake with post-language (r = -.423, p = .010), pre-delayed recall (r = -.430, p = .006), and post-delayed recall subdomain scores (r = -.335, p = .046). Control mean pre- and post-assessment MoCA scores were 25.2 ± 3.1 and 26.2 ± 2.5. Intervention mean pre- and post-assessment MoCA scores were 26.6 ± 2.4 and 26.8 ± 2.2. There were no differences in MoCA scores pre- to post-assessment or between groups. Likewise, there were no differences in mean calcium and vitamin D intake.

Conclusions: These results do not indicate a relationship between calcium and vitamin D intake and overall cognition. This relationship may exist but not be shown here due to physical activity and other nutrients, such as carotenoids, having a stronger influence. Calcium may be inversely related to language and delayed recall; however, calcium intake may correlate with intake of other nutrients, such as saturated fat in high-fat dairy foods, that may negatively impact cognition. Larger studies may reveal more insight into these findings.

Funding Sources: This study had no funding sources.