Relationship of serum vitamin D level on the possibility of geriatric syndrome in elderly persons

Abstract

Background This study aimed at evaluating serum level of vitamin D in normal elderly persons above or equal to 65 years of age and its relation to geriatric syndrome. Patients and methods A prospective study was done on 50 normal elderly persons above 65 years (23 persons from nursery home and 27 persons from geriatric outpatient clinic in Alexandria Main University Hospital). All the participants were subjecting to full history taking, complete physical examination, laboratory assessment including serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (OH)D by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and geriatric syndrome assessment using five methods, namely, fall risk assessment using timed up and go test, mini-mental state examination, geriatric depressive scale, mini-nutritional assessment, and Tinetti performance-oriented mobility assessment. Results According to vitamin D level (ng/ml), the number of patients who were deficient (<12), insufficient (12–20), and sufficient (>20) was 11, 24, and 15, respectively. The mean±SD vitamin D level was 18.44±10.71 for all patients. According to the relation between vitamin D level and demographic data for the studied group, there were significant positive associations between low vitamin D level on one side and female sex (P=0.024), advanced age (P=0.026), no sun-exposure jobs (P=0.001), and nursing home residency on the other side. Mini-mental state examination (P=0.006) and geriatric depressive scale (P=0.002) had a significant positive correlation with low vitamin D level, whereas mini-nutritional assessment (P=1.000), timed up and go test (P=0.225), and performance-oriented mobility assessment score (P=0.133) had no significant correlation with low vitamin D level. Conclusion There is a correlation between vitamin D deficiency and advanced age, cognitive dysfunction, and depression, whereas no correlation was found between vitamin D deficiency and nutritional state and risk of falling.