Abstract
BackgroundNumerous studies have investigated the role of the dietary factors in the prevention of cognitive decline but the short-term effects of foods choice on cognitive performances in the elderly are poorly explored. Our aim was to investigate the choice of foods among elderly Italian individuals and the association with cognitive function.MethodsIn this longitudinal study, the participants were 214 individuals aged ≥65 years with a score >20 at the Mini Mental State Examination. The cognitive sub-test of ADAScale was used to detect cognitive decline progression over 12 months. Food choices was measured by a combination of a 24-h recall and a seven-day diet record and Principal Components Analysis.ResultsThe Principal Components Analysis identified four food and four nutrient patterns. MMSE and ADAS-cog score after 1 year were found to be associated with legumes pattern (B = 0.25, p = 0.007; 95% CI 0.07/0.44; and B = −0.10, p = 0.006; CI −0.79/−0.30, respectively). A dietary pattern including plant proteins was independently associated with an improved ADAS-cog after 1 year (B = 0.584, p = 0.04; OR 1.79, CI 0.04–0.42).ConclusionsThe Principal Components Analysis is useful to investigate the choice of foods and nutrients in the elderly. We demonstrated an association between legumes pattern with cognitive performances.
Highlights
Numerous studies have investigated the role of the dietary factors in the prevention of cognitive decline but the short-term effects of foods choice on cognitive performances in the elderly are poorly explored
A total of 214 community-dwelling, white individuals aged ≥65 years underwent a neuropsychological assessment conducted by expert neurologists using a medical assessment and two neuropsychological tests, which were the following: the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment ScaleCognitive sub-scale (ADAS-cog) [9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16]
Baseline characteristics and factors associated with MMSE and ADAS‐cog score Table 1 shows the characteristics of the study population
Summary
Numerous studies have investigated the role of the dietary factors in the prevention of cognitive decline but the short-term effects of foods choice on cognitive performances in the elderly are poorly explored. Research over the past fifteen years have provided strong evidence for the influence of dietary factors on specific mechanisms that maintain mental function [1,2,3,4,5] In this regard, it is well known that a high adherence to a Mediterranean diet (MeDi) is associated with a reduced risk of developing cardiovascular risk factors which, in turn, may be associated with the development of cognitive impairments [2, 3]. We performed a study with the aim to analyse the choices and consumption of foods among elderly Italian individuals and to investigated the
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