Background: Evidence has emerged that anemia is associated with dementia, but data on the relationships of red blood cell distribution width (RDW) with dementia and cognitive function in older adults are sparse.
Objective: We sought to investigate the associations of RDW with dementia and global cognitive performance among rural-dwelling Chinese older adults and further to examine their associations by anemia status.
Methods: This population-based cross-sectional study included 5,115 participants (age≥65 years, 57.0%women) in the baseline examination (March-September 2018) of the Multimodal Interventions to Delay Dementia and Disability in rural China (MIND-CHINA). We collected data through face-to-face interviews, clinical examinations, and laboratory tests. Global cognitive function was evaluated using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). We defined dementia, Alzheimer's disease (AD), and vascular dementia (VaD) following the respective international criteria. Data were analyzed using multinomial logistic and general linear regression models.
Results: Of all participants, 300 were diagnosed with dementia, including 195 with AD and 95 VaD. The multiple-adjusted odds ratio of dementia associated with quartiles of RDW were 1.45 (95%CI: 0.87-2.44), 1.00 (reference), 1.77 (1.07-2.93), and 2.28 (1.40-3.72). Similar J-shaped patterns existed for the association of RDW with odds ratio of AD and VaD. Anemia was not significantly associated with dementia. The J-shaped associations of RDW with dementia and subtypes were statistically evident only among participants without anemia. There was an inverted J-shaped relationship between RDW quartiles and β-coefficients of MMSE score.
Conclusion: There is a J-shaped association between RDW level and likelihood of dementias among rural-dwelling Chinese older adults, especially among people without anemia.
Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; anemia dementia; elderly; population-based study; red cell distribution width.