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Vegetable and Fruit Intake, Its Patterns, and Cognitive Function: Cross-Sectional Findings among Older Adults in
1Prof. Shen Guodong, Department of Geriatrics, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, 17-Lujiang Road, Hefei, Anhui 230001, P.R. China (E-mail: gdshen@ustc.edu.cn, Tel.: 86-551-62282371); Assoc. Prof. Zhang Yan, School of Health Service Management, Anhui Medical University, 81-Meishan Road, Hefei, Anhui 230032, P.R. China (E-mail: zhangymail@ahmu.edu.cn, Tel.: 86-551-65161220).
Objectives:
To examine the associations of vegetable and fruit intake frequency, its patterns, and cognition among older Chinese adults.
Design:
Cross-sectional data obtained from the Anhui Province Healthy Longevity Survey.
Setting:
Urban and rural communities.
Participants:
A total of 5410 older adults (aged 60 or older) were included from selected communities.
Measurements:
Data on the number of days in a typical week that vegetables and fruits were consumed were collected, and the four intake patterns were defined (V+/F+: daily intake of both vegetables and fruit; V+/F- or V-/F+: daily intake of vegetables or fruit; and V-/F-: no daily intake of either vegetables or fruit). Cognitive function was measured using the Mini-mental State Examination (MMSE), and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) was defined according to education-specific criteria.
Results:
Nondaily vegetable intake was associated with lower MMSE scores (β = -0.763, 95% confidence interval (CI): -1.463, -0.064) among males and a higher likelihood of having MCI (OR: 1.409, 95% CI: 1.037, 1.915) among females. Less frequent intake of fruit was associated with lower MMSE scores and a higher prevalence of MCI among both males and females (p for trends < 0.001 for both sexes). Compared with the V+/F+ group, male participants who were classified into the V+/F- and V-/F- groups had lower MMSE scores (V+/F-: β = -0.612, 95% CI: -1.094, -0.131; V-/F-: β = -1.273, 95% CI: -2.090, -0.455). Females classified in the V+/F- and V-/F- patterns had lower MMSE scores (V+/F-: β = -0.862, 95% CI: -1.320, -0.404; V-/F-: β = -1.293, 95% CI: -2.079, -0.507) and elevated risks of MCI (V+/F-: OR: 1.762, 95% CI: 1.386, 2.242; V-/F-: OR: 2.180, 95% CI: 1.505, 3.156).
Conclusion:
Lower vegetable or fruit intake was associated with poorer cognitive performance among males and females, and the risk was even higher among those with a low intake of both vegetables and fruits. Healthy eating habits, including daily vegetable and fruit intake, are essential for cognition maintenance in both males and females.
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