Abstract

Background: The older adults constitute a considerable part of the Indian population and due to advancements in the medical,field, this population is fast growing. Low hemoglobin (Hb) level is a potential contributing factor for cognitive impairment,in older adults. Aim and
Objective: The present study focuses on the correlation between Hb levels and visual memory,among the older adult population in Chennai.
Materials and Methods: The present study was conducted in Sri Ramachandra,Hospital outpatient department (OPD), Porur, Chennai. A total of 304 older subjects were included in this study. Older adults,of both male and female were selected from the OPD based on the inclusion criteria – age (50–65 years) -matched subjects,were selected. Visual memory assessment, which is a subtest from the Wechsler memory scale – III, consists of four diagrams,which will present to the subject for 10 s, and after the presentation, the subjects will be asked to draw the diagram from their,memory for immediate visual memory score. After laps of 20–30 min, the subjects will be again asked to draw the picture,from their memory to obtain the delayed recall memory.
Results: The immediate visual memory in males is higher when,compared with the females, this difference is statistically significant (t = 8.111 and P = 0.000). The delayed visual memory in,males is higher when compared with the females, this difference is statistically significant. (t = 7.618 and P = 0.000). All the,scores of the normal Hb group were higher than the low Hb group and the results were statistically significant (P = 0.000).,Conclusion: In this study, we were able to observe that lower Hb levels were associated with decreased cognitive functions,in the domains of visual memory among the older adult population in Chennai