Association of dietary intake of flavonols with changes in global cognition and several cognitive abilities

The relationship between cognition and flavonoids (bioactive components in food with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant qualities) has been studied in the past. Holland et al. (2023) expand on previous research by examining the relationships between changes in cognitive performance in the areas of episodic memory, global cognition, semantic memory, perceptual speed, visuospatial ability, working memory, and dietary intakes of total flavonols and individual flavonols (kaempferol, myricetin, quercetin, and isorhamnetin). Nine hundred sixty-one individuals (between the ages of 60 and 100 years) from the Rush Memory and Aging Project, a prospective cohort of community residents, were recruited for this study and monitored for an average of 6.9 years. A semi-quantitative, validated food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was used to evaluate diet. Every year, 19 standardized tests were used to evaluate cognitive ability. The authors observed that a slower decline in several cognitive areas and global cognition was linked to higher dietary intakes of flavonol components and total flavonols. After adjusting for age, education, sex, APOE ɛ4, physical activity, late-life cognitive activity, and smoking in continuous models, total flavonoid intake was linked to a slower decline in working memory, episodic memory, semantic memory, perceptual speed, global cognition, and modestly linked to visuospatial ability. Individual flavonol ingredient analyses showed that consumption of quercetin and kaempferol was linked to a delayed rate of overall cognitive deterioration. No links between global cognition and myricetin or isorhamnetin were found. The authors conclude that dietary consumption of specific flavonol components and total flavonols may be linked to a slower age-related loss in numerous cognitive capacities and in global cognition. [NPID: Flavonols, cognitive decline, global cognition, kaempferol, quercetin, adults]

Year: 2022

Reference: Holland, T. M., Agarwal, P., Wang, Y., Dhana, K., Leurgans, S. E., Shea, K., Booth, S. L., Rajan, K. B., Schneider, J. A., & Barnes, L. L. (2023). Association of dietary intake of flavonols with changes in global cognition and several cognitive abilities. Neurology, 100(7), e694–e702. https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000201541

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