Association of dietary lecithin intake with mild cognitive impairment and cognitive performance in elderly population

The cognitive-enhancing effects of dietary lecithin are gaining increasing attention, but evidence supporting these claims remains limited. This study aims to explore the relationship between dietary lecithin intake and cognitive function, as well as the prevalence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), in adults aged over 60 years.

This cross-sectional study included participants aged over 60 years recruited from Beijing, Jincheng City (Shanxi Province), and Linyi City (Shandong Province) from 2020 to 2023. Cognitive function and dietary intake were assessed using neuropsychological tests and a food frequency questionnaire, respectively. Body composition was measured by bioelectrical impedance analysis, and blood lipids by an automated biochemistry analyzer. Spearman correlation analysis, multiple linear regression, logistic regression, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis were performed.

Among the 1917 participants enrolled, 1023 (1023/1917, 53.4%) had MCI, of whom 542 (542/1023, 53.0%) were women. Multiple linear regression showed that after dichotomizing lecithin and serum cholesterol indicators according to the median, high levels of dietary lecithin, total cholesterol (TC), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) were associated with higher Montreal Cog-nitive Assessment (MoCA, regression coefficients were 0.49, 0.44, and 0.38, respectively); logistic regression showed that, compared with low intake level, the odds ratio (95% confidence interval [CI]) of MCI in high dietary lecithin intake group was 0.80 (95% CI: 0.64, 0.99). ROC analysis of a model incorporating dietary lecithin, energy intake, demographic, and clinical characteristics yielded an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.735 (95% CI: 0.713-0.757). Targeted lipidomic analysis revealed that the MCI group exhibited a lower total phosphatidylcholine (PC) level, a reduced proportion of PC containing polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), and a higher proportion of PC containing saturated fatty acid (SFA).

Higher dietary lecithin intake was associated with better cognitive performance and a lower prevalence of MCI among the elderly population aged 60 and above.