Korelasi Kadar Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor dengan Gangguan Fungsi Kognitif pada Populasi Lanjut Usia

Abstract

Background: Aging is a multifactorial process determined by genetic and epigenetic factors, causing a decline in cognitive function. Cognitive function is generally associated with neural plasticity. Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) supports neuronal survival, growth and differentiation of new neurons, increases synapse formation, plays a role in neurogenesis, and produces neural stem cells. Objective: This study aims to determine the relationship between BDNF levels and impaired cognitive function in the elderly population. Methods: This study is a correlative analytical with a cross-sectional design using primary data sources. Subjects who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria underwent a MoCA Ina examination which was then followed by taking blood samples to check BDNF levels. Results: Based on gender, there were 50 elderly women (56.8%) and 38 elderly men (43.2%) from a total of 88 research subjects. The median age of all research subjects was 69.5 years (61 – 92). There were 71 subjects (80.7%) with impaired cognitive function with a median value of 15.0 (2-28). Based on the cognitive domain, the most disturbance was in the abstraction domain (98.9%). Of the 88 subjects, the mean BDNF level was 1.55 (±0.62) with 50 subjects having normal BDNF levels (56.8%). A weak positive correlation was found between BDNF levels and the visuospatial-executive domain (r=0.232, p=0.029) and abstraction domain (r=0.249, p=0.019). And there was a significant difference in BDNF levels between the normal cognitive function group and the impaired cognitive function group in the MoCA-Ina score results (p = 0.029). Conclusion: There is a weak association between BDNF levels and cognitive function, especially in the visuospatial-executive domain and abstraction domain.