Subjective well-being in older adults: folate and vitamin B₁₂independently predict positive affect

Abstract

Vitamin B 12 , folate and homocysteine have long been implicated in mental illness, and growing evidence suggests that they may play a role in positive mental health. Elucidation of these relationships is confounded due to the dependence of homocysteine on available levels of vitamin B 12 and folate. Cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships between vitamin B 12 , folate, homocysteine and subjective well-being were assessed in a sample of 391 older, community-living adults without clinically diagnosed depression. Levels of vitamin B 12 , but not folate, influenced homocysteine levels 18 months later. Vitamin B 12 , folate and their interaction significantly predicted levels of positive affect (PA) 18 months later, but had no impact on the levels of negative affect or life satisfaction. Cross-sectional relationships between homocysteine and PA were completely attenuated in the longitudinal analyses, suggesting that the cross-sectional relationship is driven by the dependence of homocysteine on vitamin B 12 and folate. This is the first study to offer some evidence of a causal link between levels of folate and vitamin B 12 on PA in a large, non-clinical population.

Cross-Sectional Analysis of the Correlation Between Daily Nutrient Intake Assessed by 7-Day Food Records and Biomarkers of Dietary Intake Among Participants of the NU-AGE Study

“…Folate and vitamin B12 are necessary for the methylation of homocysteine to methionine (Edney et al, 2015 ; Kennedy, 2016 ). Vitamin B6 is an essential cofactor for the homocysteine trans-sulfuration pathway that can catabolize effectively the potentially toxic excess of homocysteine not required for methyl transfer (Pandey and Pradhan, 2006 ).…”

Déficit de vitamina B12 en la práctica psiquiátrica

“…En un estudio reciente que evaluó 391 ancianos de 64 a 91 años se encontró que había una asociación entre el afecto positivo y los niveles altos de vitamina B12 y ácido fólico, específicamente en población anciana ambulatoria (53).…”

Physical activity and Baltic Sea diet are interactively related to higher life satisfaction in community-living older Finnish women: OSTPRE-FPS study

“…In addition, consuming varied diet is important for older adults to obtain all the nutrients needed to achieve good physical and mental health and reduced mortality (18,19) . In older adults, higher diet quality has been linked with various health outcomes, including reduced risk of chronic disease, age-related diseases, which potentially results in longevity (20,21) . In prospective studies, a potential protective role of diet quality against depressive symptoms has been suggested (22,23) .…”