The Correlation Between Folic Acid Supplementation And Change In Cognitive Function In Elderly (A Study of The Effect of Folic Acid Supplementation on Homocysteine Levels)

Authors

  • Adinda Putri Larastiti Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine of Diponegoro University/ Kariadi Hospital, Indonesia
  • Hexanto Muhartomo Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine of Diponegoro University/ Kariadi Hospital, Indonesia
  • Amin Husni Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine of Diponegoro University/ Kariadi Hospital, Indonesia
  • Endang Kustiowati Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine of Diponegoro University/ Kariadi Hospital, Indonesia
  • Herlina Suryawati Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine of Diponegoro University/ Kariadi Hospital, Indonesia
  • Arinta Puspita Wati Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine of Diponegoro University/ Kariadi Hospital, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36408/mhjcm.v12i1.985

Keywords:

Elderly, Cognitive function, MoCa Ina, homocysteine, folic acid

Abstract

Background: A good cognitive function is one of the things that affect the quality of life of the elderly. Decreased cognitive function in elderly can be caused by physiological or pathological processes. Increased homocysteine is one of risk factors associated with decreased cognitive function. Folic acid supplementation has been shown to reduce homocysteine levels.

The aim: To know the relationship between folic acid supplementation and change in cognitive function in elderly.

Methods: This research is a quasi-experimental study at Pucang Gading Nursing Home, Semarang. A total of 30 subjects were divided into 2 groups, namely 15 treatment subjects (given folic acid supplementation 1 mg/24 hours) and 15 control group subjects (given placebo), 1 subject dropped out due to death. The study was conducted for 12 weeks, assessment of homocysteine level and cognitive function (with MoCA Ina) was carried out before and after the study.

Results: There was no relationship between folic acid supplementation and changes in homocysteine level (p 0.322). There is a relationship between folic acid supplementation with change in cognitive function in elderly (p 0.000). There is a relationship between changes in homocysteine level and  global change in cognitive function in elederly (p 0.018),

Conclusion: There is a significant relationship between folic acid supplementation and change in cognitive function in elderly.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

1.    Pangribowo S. Empowered Elderly, Prosperous Nation. Infodatin [Internet]. 2022 [cited 2023 Jun 8]; Available from: https://www.kemkes.go.id/downloads/resources/download/pusdatin/infodatin/Infodatin- Lansia-2022.pdf
2.    Woodford HJ, George J. Cognitive assessment in the elderly: A review of clinical methods. Vol. 100, QJM. 2007. p. 469–84.
3.    Finklestein JD. The metabolism of homocysteine: pathways and regulation. Eur J Pediatr. 1998;2:40–4.
4.    Wijekoon EP, Brosnan ME, Brosnan JT. Homocysteine Metabolism. 2006.
5.    Sachdev PS, Parslow RA, Lux O, Salonikas C, Wen W, Naidoo D, et al. Relationship of homocysteine, folic acid and vitamin B12 depression in a middle-aged community sample. Psychol Med. 2005 Apr;35(4):529–38.
6.    Nuru M, Muradashvili N, Kalani A, Lominadze D, Tyagi N. High methionine, low folate and low vitamin B6/B12 (HM-LF-LV) diet causes neurodegeneration and subsequent short-term memory loss. Metab Brain Dis. 2018 Dec 1;33(6):1923–34.
7.    Garcia A, Zanibbi K. Homocysteine and cognitive function in elderly people. Vol. 171, CMAJ. Canadian Medical Association Journal. Canadian Medical Association; 2004. p. 897– 904.
8.    Mooijaart SP, Gussekloo J, Frölich M, Jolles J, Stott DJ, Westendorp RGJ, et al. Homocysteine, vitamin B-12, and folic acid and the risk of cognitive decline in old age: The Leiden 85-Plus Study. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2005;82(4):866–71.
9.    Pusparini. Homocysteine and cognitive function in the elderly UNIVERSA MEDICINA. Vol. 28, Univ Med. 2009.
10.    Cesar KG, Yassuda MS, Porto FHG, Brucki SMD, Nitrini R. MoCA Test: normative and diagnostic accuracy data for seniors with heterogeneous educational levels in Brazil. Arq Neuropsychiatr. 2019 Nov 1;77(11):775–81.
11.    Julayanont P, Nasreddine ZS. Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA): Concept and clinical review. In: Cognitive Screening Instruments: A Practical Approach. Springer International Publishing; 2016. p. 139–95.
12.    Borda MG, Reyes-Ortiz C, Pérez-Zepeda MU, Patino-Hernandez D, Gómez-Arteaga C, Cano-Gutiérrez CA. Educational level and its Association with the domains of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Test. Aging Ment Health. 2019;23(10):1300–6.
13.    Rambe AS, Fitri FI. Correlation between the Montreal Cognitive Assessment-Indonesian Version (Moca-INA) and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) in Elderly. Open Access Maced J Med Sci. 2017 Dec 15;5(7):915–9.
14.    Kaye George M Jeha Alex D Pham Mitchell C Fuller Zachary I Lerner Gerald T Sibley Elyse M Cornett Ivan Urits Omar Viswanath Christopher G Kevil AD. Folic Acid Supplementation in Patients with Elevated Homocysteine Levels. Available from: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.12788843.
15.    Wald DS, Bishop L, Wald NJ, Hennessy E, Weir D, Mcpartlin J, et al. Randomized Trial of Folic Acid Supplementation and Serum Homocysteine Levels [Internet]. Available from: https://jamanetwork.com/
16.    Zeng Q, Li F, Xiang T, Wang W, Ma C, Yang C, et al. Influence of food groups on plasma total homocysteine for specific MTHFR C677T genotypes in Chinese population. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2017 Feb 1;61(2).
17.    McNulty H, Pentiev K, Hoey L, Strain JJ, Ward M. Nutrition throughout life: Folate. International Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research. 2012 Oct;82(5):348–54.
18.    Widyadharma IPE, Tedyanto EH, Laksmidewi AAAP, Adnyana MO, Samatra DPGP. Folic acid supplementation improves cognitive function: A systematic review. Vol. 19, Romanian Journal of Neurology/ Revista Romana de Neurologie. Amaltea Medical Publishing House; 2020. p. 219–23.
19.    Oner P, Yilmaz S, Doğan S. High Homocysteine Levels Are Associated with Cognitive Impairment in Patients Who Recovered from COVID-19 in the Long Term. J Pers Med. 2023 Mar 10;13(3):503.
20.    Luzzi S, Papiri G, Viticchi G, Baldinelli S, Fiori C, Silvestrini M, et al. Association between homocysteine levels and cognitive profile in Alzheimer's Disease. Journal of Clinical Neuroscience. 2021 Dec 1;94:250–6.

Additional Files

Published

2025-03-27

How to Cite

1.
Larastiti AP, Muhartomo H, Husni A, Kustiowati E, Suryawati H, Wati AP. The Correlation Between Folic Acid Supplementation And Change In Cognitive Function In Elderly (A Study of The Effect of Folic Acid Supplementation on Homocysteine Levels). Medica Hospitalia J. Clin. Med. [Internet]. 2025 Mar. 27 [cited 2025 Apr. 26];12(1):23-8. Available from: https://medicahospitalia.rskariadi.co.id/index.php/mh/article/view/985

Issue

Vol. 12 No. 1 (2025): Med Hosp; March 2025

Section

Original Article

Citation Check

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Adinda Putri Larastiti, Hexanto Muhartomo, Amin Husni, Endang Kustiowati, Herlina Suryawati, Arinta Puspita Wati (Author)

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Copyrights Notice
Copyrights:
Researchers publishing manuscrips at Medica Hospitalis: Journal of Clinical Medicine agree with regulations as follow:
Copyrights of each article belong to researchers, and it is likewise the patent rights
Researchers admit that Medica Hospitalia: Journal of Clinical Medicine has the right of first publication
Researchers may submit manuscripts separately, manage non exclusive distribution of published manuscripts into other versions (such as: being sent to researchers’ institutional repository, publication in the books, etc), admitting that manuscripts have been firstly published at Medica Hospitalia: Journal of Clinical Medicine
License:
Medica Hospitalia: Journal of Clinical Medicine is disseminated based on provisions of Creative Common Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 Internasional It allows individuals to duplicate and disseminate manuscripts in any formats, to alter, compose and make derivatives of manuscripts for any purpose. You are not allowed to use manuscripts for commercial purposes. You should properly acknowledge, reference links, and state that alterations have been made. You can do so in proper ways, but it does not hint that the licensors support you or your usage.