Dietary patterns related to attention and physiological function in high-altitude migrants

High-altitude exposure has been shown to negatively impact human attentional function, but no research has yet examined the influence of diet on regulating attentional and physiological functions in this context. This study was conducted Su et al. (2024) to identify dietary patterns with 116 Han Chinese students from Tibet University, all of whom were male migrants who had lived in Tibet for over two years but were originally from plain regions. Participants completed a food frequency questionnaire, a complete blood count, and an attention network test. The study identified five main dietary patterns: coarse grain, alcohol, meat, protein, and snacking patterns. Results showed that individuals who followed a coarse grain dietary pattern and had higher mean corpuscular hemoglobin levels displayed better attentional performance. Conversely, individuals with higher alcohol consumption and elevated systemic immune-inflammation index levels showed poorer attentional performance. The findings suggest that migrants in high-altitude regions should prioritize coarse grains in their diet and reduce alcohol consumption to enhance attention. [NPID: High-altitude, dietary patterns, attention, physiological function, migrants]

 

Year: 2024

Reference: Su, R., Zhang, W., Huang, J., Fan, J., Peng, P., Li, H., Zhang, D., Li, Y., Ma, H., Nie, L., & Li, Z. (2024). Dietary patterns related to attention and physiological function in high-altitude migrants. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 23319. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-75313-4