Consumption of dietary nuts in midlife and risk of cognitive impairment in late-life: the Singapore Chinese Health Study

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Abstract
Evidence from prospective studies investigating the association between consumption of nuts in midlife and risk of cognitive impairment in late life is limited. this study analysed data from 16,737 participants in a population-based cohort, the Singapore Chinese Health Study. Intake of nuts was assessed using a validated food-frequency questionnaire at baseline (1993–1998), when participants were 45–74 years old (mean age = 53.5 years). Cognitive function was tested using the Singapore modified Mini-Mental State Examination during the third follow-up visit (2014–2016), when participants were 61–96 years old (mean age = 73.2 years). Cognitive impairment was defined using education-specific cut-off points. Logistic regression models were used to estimate the odds ratio (OR) and the 95% confidence interval (CI) for the association between intake and risk of cognitive impairment. cognitive impairment was identified in 2,397 (14.3%) participants. Compared with those who consumed P-trend = 0.01). Further adjustment for intake of unsaturated fatty acids attenuated the association to non-significance. Mediation analysis showed that the 50.8% of the association between nuts and risk of cognitive impairment was mediated by the intake of total unsaturated fatty acids (P < 0.001). higher intake of nuts in midlife was related to a lower risk of cognitive impairment in late life, which was partly mediated by unsaturated fatty acids.
Funding Information
  • National Medical Research Council (NMRC/CSA/0055/2013)
  • National Cancer Institute
  • National Institutes of Health (UM1 CA182876, R01 CA144034)
  • Public Health Agency
  • National University of Singapore
  • National Key Research and Development Program of China (2017YFC0907504)
  • Health Department of Hubei Province (2018CFA033)

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