Serum Oxytocin Levels and Logical Memory in Older People in Rural Japan.

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between serum oxytocin (OT) and logical memory among older people in rural Japan. This was a cross-sectional study using a survey conducted from October 2009 through March 2011. Most of the study was conducted as part of a national prevalence survey of dementia in Japan. The final sample comprised 385 community-dwelling people aged 65 years or older living in rural Japan. The mean age and standard deviation were 75.7 ± 6.76 years (144 men, mean age 75.0 ± 6.48 years; 241 women, mean age 76.2 ± 6.91 years). The participants underwent screening examinations for a prevalence survey of dementia. The screening examinations were the Mini-Mental State Examination, Clinical Dementia Rating, and "logical memory A" from the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised (WMSR). We used the WMSR Logical Memory II delayed recall score (LM II-DR) to assess logical memory. Levels of serum OT were obtained using the enzyme immunoassay method. Serum OT levels were significantly higher among women than men. The present study revealed that serum OT levels were positively associated with LM II-DR in older women living in rural Japan in multiple linear regression analyses. The present results suggested a positive correlation between OT and logical memory in older women living in rural Japan.