Dietary Flavonoids beneficial in maintaining cognitive function: Study

A study was conducted by a group of researchers from U.S.A. to prospectively examine the associations between long-term dietary flavonoids and subjective cognitive decline (SCD).

The researchers selected a total of 49,493 women from the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) (1984-2006) and 27,842 men from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS) (1986-2002). Poisson regression was used to evaluate the associations between dietary flavonoids (flavonols, flavones, flavanones, flavan-3-ols, anthocyanins, polymeric flavonoids and proanthocyanidins) and subsequent subjective cognitive decline (SCD). For the NHS, long-term average dietary intake was calculated from seven repeated food frequency questionnaires (SFFQs), and subjective cognitive decline (SCD) was assessed in 2012 and 2014. For the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS), average dietary intake was calculated from five repeated seven repeated food frequency questionnaires (SFFQs), and subjective cognitive decline (SCD) was assessed in 2008 and 2012.

The results of the study are as follows:

• Higher intake of total flavonoids was associated with lower odds of subjective cognitive decline (SCD) after adjusting for age, total energy intake, major non-dietary factors, and specific dietary factors.
• Comparing the highest versus the lowest quintiles of total flavonoid intake, the pooled multivariable-adjusted odds ratios (ORs) was 0.81.
• In the pooled results, the strongest associations were observed for flavones, flavanones, and anthocyanins.
• The dose-response curve was steepest for flavones, followed by anthocyanins.
• Many flavonoid-rich foods, such as strawberries, oranges, grapefruits, citrus juices, apples/pears, celery, peppers, and bananas, were significantly associated with lower odds of subjective cognitive decline (SCD).

The researchers concluded that their findings support a benefit of higher flavonoid intakes for maintaining cognitive function in US men and women.

Reference:

Long-term Dietary Flavonoid Intake and Subjective Cognitive Decline in US Men and Women by Yeh T et. al published in the Neurology.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000012454