Association between the diet balance index-based dietary quality and cognitive function among Zhejiang population aged 40 years and older

Abstract

To evaluation the dietary quality of Zhejiang population aged 40 years and older using the Dietary Balance Index(DBI) and to analyze the association between dietary quality and cognitive function. The dietary information was collected with the help of questionnaire survey, a 3-day dietary recall and household condiment weighing method from Zhejiang participants of the 2018 wave of the China Health and Nutrition Survey aged 40 years and older, and the food and energy intakes were calculated. The cognitive function was assessed by the Mini Mental Status Examination. Dietary quality was evaluated using the DBI method. A multivariate Logistic regression model was used to examine the association between dietary quality and the risk of cognitive impairment. Among 640 participants aged 40 years and older, 14.2% had cognitive impairment. Univariate analysis showed that those with cognitive impairment had higher cereal(P=0.001), particularly, higher rice and products intake(P<0.001), as well as higher egg intake(P=0.008) than those with normal cognitive function; while the intake of soybean and its product(P=0.025) was lower. Those with cognitive impairment had higher DBI score of cereal(P=0.006) and high bound score(HBS)(P=0.028)than those with normal cognitive function. After adjustment for possible confounding factors, Logistic regression showed that moderated and severe over-consumption was positively associated with cognitive impairment(OR=2.486, 95% CI 1.130-5.470, P=0.024). Over-consumption may increase the risk of cognitive impairment among aged Zhejiang population, and should be used to prevent or reduce cognitive decline by improving the quality of the diet through a reasonable dietary mix.