Clin Nutr Res.  2018 Jul;7(3):199-212. 10.7762/cnr.2018.7.3.199.

Association of Nutrient Intakes with Cognitive Function in Koreans Aged 50 years and Older

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Medical Nutrition, Graduate School of East-West Medical Science, Kyung Hee University, Yongin 17104, Korea. ypark@khu.ac.kr
  • 2College of Nursing, Seoul National University, Seoul 03080, Korea. dredemian@snu.ac.kr
  • 3Research Institute of Nursing Science, Seoul National University, Seoul 03080, Korea.
  • 4National Standard Reference Data Center for Korean EEG, Seoul 03080, Korea.
  • 5Research Institute of Medical Nutrition, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 02447, Korea.

Abstract

This study attempted to investigate whether nutrient and food intake were related with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in adults and elderly over 50 years of age in Korea. Questionnaires and anthropometric measurements were conducted on general aspects of the research, and food frequency questionnaires (FFQs) were conducted to determine nutritional status. The relative theta power (RTP) through electroencephalography (EEG) measurements, neurocognitive function test (NFT; CNS Vital Signs), and cognitive function was measured. The MCI group consumed significantly lower C18:4, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) among the N-3 fatty acids, N-6 fatty acids dihomo-γ-linolenic acid (DGLA), mono unsaturated fatty acids, C22:1, biotin, vitamin D in the nutrients, and sweet potato (12.35g/day, p = 0.015), mackerel (3.38g/day, p = 0.017), mandarin orange (p = 0.016), persimmon (p = 0.013) and apple (p = 0.023) in the food than the normal group did. And the MCI group consumed salted fish (3.14g/day, p = 0.041) and ice-cream (5.01g/day, p = 0.050) at a significantly higher level. Delayed verbal score, delayed visual score, and verbal memory score of the NFT and RTP values of the prefrontal cortex among the EEGs were significantly lower in the MCI group compared to those in the normal group. From this study, we found that nutrient and food intake are closely related to MCI in Korean aged 50 years and older, but more human studies are needed to verify these findings.

Keyword

Nutrient; Food; Cognition; Electroencephalography; Koreans

MeSH Terms

Adult
Aged
Asian Continental Ancestry Group
Biotin
Citrus sinensis
Cognition*
Diospyros
Eating
Eicosapentaenoic Acid
Electroencephalography
Fatty Acids, Omega-3
Fatty Acids, Omega-6
Fatty Acids, Unsaturated
Humans
Ipomoea batatas
Korea
Memory
Mild Cognitive Impairment
Nutritional Status
Perciformes
Prefrontal Cortex
Vitamin D
Biotin
Eicosapentaenoic Acid
Fatty Acids, Omega-3
Fatty Acids, Omega-6
Fatty Acids, Unsaturated
Vitamin D

Figure

  • Figure 1 Percentage of nutrient intakes compared with DRI for Koreans 2015 of the subjects. DRI standards estimated energy requirements (energy) or adequate intake (vitamin E and biotin) or recommended dietary allowances (other nutrients). Data are least square means ± standard deviation. DRI, Dietary Reference Intake; MCI, mild cognitive impairment. *Significant difference between MCI group and normal group by Mann-Whitney U test.


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