Vitaminas e Oligoelementos e Cognição no Idoso ; Vitamins and Trace Elements and Cognition in the Elderly

Trabalho Final do Mestrado Integrado em Medicina apresentado à Faculdade de Medicina ; With the increasing demographic aging of the population worldwide, there is an increase in the prevalence of chronic diseases and the burden on individuals, families and national health systems. Among chronic diseases associated with age, the decline in cognitive function is one of the most pressing health challenges, compromising the individual's functionality and autonomy and ultimately leading to the need for institutionalized care.Nutrition, along with lifestyle, is now widely accepted as a key determinant of health status. Numerous epidemiological studies have suggested the important role of adequate nutritional status, particularly with regard to micronutrients (vitamins and trace elements), as a preventive of the loss of cognitive abilities with aging and the onset and progression of neurodegenerative diseases. This is of great relevance, since diet is a modifiable risk factor. Nutritional interventions to ensure adequate intake of micronutrients can provide preventive strategies at very early stages of cognitive decline and dementia, especially since the therapies available so far have limited efficacy.Although older people generally have a longer and healthier life, aging is associated with a series of physiological and psychological changes that, together with other factors, such as the progression of chronic diseases, influence nutritional needs and status of this population group. In fact, the sub-optimal intake of micronutrients is common among the elderly, with those institutionalized and hospitalized being especially vulnerable.In current epidemiological and scientific evidence, two major groups of micronutrients are often addressed by their relation to cognitive function: vitamins that reduce homocysteine and antioxidants. Deficiencies in antioxidants, such as vitamins C, E, zinc and selenium, B vitamins (especially folic acid, B6, B12) and vitamin D appear to contribute to or even promote cognitive decline. ...