Relationship between Serum and Brain Carotenoids, 𝜶-Tocopherol, and Retinol Concentrations and Cognitive Performance in the Oldest Old from the Georgia Centenarian Study

Table 6

Cross-sectional relationship between concentrations of carotenoids, 𝛼-tocopherol, and retinol in the cortex (average concentrations of the frontal, occipital, and temporal cortices) and premortem measures of cognitive function in subjects with normal cognitive function, mild memory loss, and MCI who completed the cognitive function tests a year prior their death (𝑛=21).

	MMSE	FOME recognition	SIB	COWAT	BDS	CERAD verbal fluency	CERAD Boston naming test
Lutein (trans + cis)	0.494^a	−0.297	0.076	0.142	0.459	0.455	0.572^a
Zeaxanthin	0.439	−0.281	0.139	0.177	0.286	0.461^a	0.207
Cryptoxanthin	−0.056	0.325	−0.021	0.152	0.046	0.302	0.084
𝛽-Carotene, trans	0.265	−0.010	−0.014	0.269	0.137	0.265	0.008
Lycopene, trans	0.124	−0.003	0.132	0.067	−0.085	0.065	0.275
𝛼-Tocopherol	0.393	−0.295	0.568^a	0.637^a	0.434	0.328	0.165
Retinol	0.161	−0.456	0.168	0.400	0.067	0.108	−0.307

Values are partial correlation coefficients adjusted for sex, education, diabetes, and hypertension.
^a𝑃≤0.05.
MMSE: Mini-Mental State Examination; FOME: Fuld Object Memory Evaluation; SIB: Severe Impairment Battery; COWAT: Controlled Oral Word Association Test; BDS: Behavioral Dyscontrol Scale; CERAD: Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer’s Disease.