Association Between Dietary and Serum Cholesterol and Cognitive Function Among the U.S. Elderly from NHANES 2011-2014

The association between dietary or serum cholesterol and cognitive performance in older adults has not been well-established.

This study aimed to investigate the potential association between dietary or serum cholesterol and cognitive performance in the elderly population.

A cross-sectional analysis was conducted using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2011-2012 and 2013-2014. Diet and supplement cholesterol was estimated based on two non-consecutive 24-hour dietary recalls. Cognitive function was assessed using various statistical tests. Poor cognitive performance was defined as scores below the lowest quartile within age groups. Regression models were adjusted for demographic factors, and subgroup analyses were performed for non-Hispanic White (NHW) and non-Hispanic Black (NHB) individuals.

Among 759 participants aged 60 years and above, dietary cholesterol was only associated with dietary saturated fatty acids and serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. There was no evidence of an association between dietary cholesterol and cognitive function, except for NHB individuals, where dietary cholesterol showed a positive correlation with cognitive function. In the overall sample and NHW participants, there were consistent positive associations between serum total cholesterol and cognitive performance across statistical tests, while such associations were rare among NHB individuals. Although not statistically significant, NHB individuals had higher dietary/supplementary/total cholesterol intake compared with NHW individuals.

Within the normal range, increasing serum cholesterol may be a potential factor to prevent or relieve cognitive dysfunction. However, ethnic differences should be taken into account when considering the association between cholesterol and cognitive performance.