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Effects of pistachio consumption on cognition, cardiometabolic risk factors, and life satisfaction in older adults:
Sarah Jaehwa Park1, Irene Sanchez Gavilan2, Sidong Li3
1Division of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Background:
Pistachios contain key nutrients and bioactive compounds that may be particularly relevant for cognition health. Although short-term pistachio intervention trials have demonstrated improvements in cardiometabolic risk factors implicated in cognitive decline, the potential cognitive effects of pistachio consumption remain to be adequately elucidated.
Methods And Design:
This remote-based, 6-month randomized controlled trial will test the effects of a pistachio-enriched diet (1.25 oz./d), compared to usual diet, on cognitive function in older US adults (target n = 80). Key eligibility criteria include: active participation in the COcoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes Study (COSMOS), age 65-80 years, current nut intake of ≤1 serving/week, and being free of dementia or recent cardiovascular disease, cancer, or changes in relevant medications. The primary outcome is Mobile Toolbox fluid cognition composite scores, derived by averaging standardized test scores across five domains (associative memory, episodic memory, working memory, processing speed, executive function). Secondary outcomes include individual cognitive domain scores, cardiometabolic risk factors (body weight, waist circumference, blood pressure, fasting glucose, lipids, interleukin-6, insulin-like growth factor 1), and life satisfaction.
Discussion:
Results from this trial will contribute to the growing literature on the cardiometabolic effects of pistachio consumption and may offer insight into its potential role in cognitive function, life satisfaction, and the mechanisms by which it could influence these interrelated domains of health in older adults. Findings will be interpreted in the context of a modest sample size and other pragmatic study design considerations.
Trial Registration:
This trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (Identifier: NCT06992544).
