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Dietary patterns and cognitive function in older New Zealand adults: the REACH study
Global population patterns are gravitating towards an aging population. Recent publications demonstrate how dietary habits are potentially linked to cognition in the elderly. In this cross-sectional study by Mumme et al. (2022), the authors examined the relationship between cognitive function and dietary patterns in a population of 371 older adult participants (65 to 74 years of age, 36% males) of the REACH study (Researching Eating, Activity, and Cognitive Health) who do not require assisted living measures. Dietary patterns were deduced using a 109-item validated food frequency questionnaire, while cognition was evaluated using COMPASS (Computerized Mental Performance Assessment System) to look at six domains, namely attention and vigilance, cognition, executive function, working memory, episodic memory, and spatial memory. Analysis of the results revealed that participants adopted one of three dietary patterns which accounted for an 18% dietary variability: a ‘Mediterranean style’ diet (rich in leafy vegetables, salad vegetables, avocados, olives, alliums, white fish and shellfish, oily fish, nuts and seeds, berries and other vegetables), a ‘Western’ diet (rich in sauces, condiments, processed meats, biscuits, cakes, puddings, meat pies, chips, and processed fish), and a ‘Prudent’ diet (rich in soy-based foods, whole grains, dried legumes, fresh and frozen legumes, and carrots). These diets were not linked to any of the cognitive domains investigated in the study, however, cognitive function was associated with education level and age. The authors conclude that dietary patterns have no relationship to cognitive function in investigated older adults. [NPID: Apolipoprotein E, episodic memory, executive function, global cognition, healthy aging, Mediterranean diet, principal component analysis, western dietary pattern, working memory]
Year: 2022
