Carotenoid-rich dietary patterns during midlife and subsequent cognitive function

British Journal of Nutrition
Q1
Sep 2013
Citations:94
Influential Citations:4
Observational Studies (Human)
80
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Methods
Original SU.VI.MAX trial (randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled) followed participants; SU.VI.MAX 2 (2007-2009) cognitive assessment conducted in 2983 middle-aged adults (45-60 years at baseline). A subsample of 381 had baseline plasma carotenoid measurements used to derive a carotenoid-rich dietary pattern (CDP) via reduced rank regression, which was extrapolated to the full sample. Six neuropsychological tests assessed cognitive function; analyses used ANCOVA and multivariable linear regression with extensive covariate adjustment. Mean follow-up about 13.6 years. Participants were community-dwelling adults and relatively healthy volunteers.
Intervention
Daily low-dose antioxidant vitamins and minerals during the SU.VI.MAX trial (1994-2002).
Results
A carotenoid-rich dietary pattern in midlife was associated with better cognitive performance about 13.6 years later. In fully adjusted models, the highest CDP tertile had a composite cognitive score 1.04 points higher than the lowest tertile (95% CI 0.20-1.87; P for trend = 0.02). Similar positive associations were observed for cued recall, backward digit span, Trail Making Test, and semantic fluency; no association for forward digit span or phonemic fluency. Findings remained after sensitivity analyses (inverse probability weighting; simplified DP; placebo subgroup). CDP was positively related to intake of green-coloured fruits/vegetables, orange-coloured fruits/vegetables, vegetable oils and soup. Suggests that a diet with sufficient quantity and variety of coloured fruits and vegetables may help preserve cognitive function during ageing.
Limitations
No baseline cognitive performance data; DP derived from a subsample and extrapolated; potential selection bias; generalizability limited to similar populations; residual confounding.

Abstract

Carotenoids may help to prevent the ageing of the brain. Previous findings regarding β-carotene alone are not consistent. In the present study, we evaluated the cross-time association between a carotenoid-rich dietary pattern (CDP) and subsequent cog...