Low folate predicts accelerated cognitive decline: 8-year follow-up of 3140 older adults in Ireland

Objective To examine associations of plasma folate concentrations and risk of global and domain-specific cognitive decline in older people. Methods Data of 3140 participants from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA), a nationally-representative cohort of adults aged ≥50 years were used over 8-year follow-up. Biannual cognitive assessments included the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), verbal fluency and immediate and delayed word recall tests (Waves 1–5) and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, (MoCA) (Waves 1 and 3). Plasma folate concentrations were measured in stored blood collected at baseline. Mixed effects Poisson and linear regression determined associations between baseline folate concentrations and cognition. Results In multivariable-adjusted models of those aged ≥50 years at baseline, low folate at baseline (