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P4‐002: Education attenuates the association between dietary patterns and cognitive deficit
Author(s) -
Akbaraly Tasnime N.,
Singh-Manoux Archana,
Marmot Michael G.,
Brunner Eric J.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.713
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1552-5279
pISSN - 1552-5260
DOI - 10.1016/j.jalz.2008.05.2066
Subject(s) - cognition , confounding , effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance , odds , quartile , cohort , logistic regression , food group , association (psychology) , psychology , medicine , environmental health , demography , psychiatry , confidence interval , pathology , sociology , psychotherapist
Background: Although many specific foods and nutrients have been linked with cognitive function, the relationship with overall dietary pattern remains less explored. We assessed the relation between dietary patterns and cognitive performance by taking into account potential confounders with particular attention to the role of education. Methods: Data come from Phase 7 (2002-04) of the Whitehall II study, a prospective cohort of UK civil servants enrolled in 1985-88. Analyses were carried on 4693 stroke-free European “white” participants. Two dietary patterns were determined from Food Frequency Questionnaires using principal component analysis : “whole food” (fruit, vegetables, dried legumes and fish) and “processed food” pattern (sweetened desserts, chocolates, fried food, processed meat, pies, refined grains, high fat dairy products, margarine and condiments). Cognitive deficit was defined as performance in the worst quintile on measures of memory, reasoning, vocabulary, phonemic and semantic fluency. Logistic regression was used to assess the association between tertiles of dietary patterns and cognitive deficit. Results: After adjustment for all confounders except education, higher intake of “whole food” diet was associated with lower odds of deficit on reasoning (OR 0.69 [0.570.84]) as well as all other cognitive tests. Correspondingly, high consumption of “processed food” was associated with greater odds of cognitive deficit on all tests except memory.. Critically, after adjustment for education most of these associations did not remain significant. Conclusions: Associations found between dietary patterns and cognitive deficit in a healthy middle-aged UK cohort appear to be shaped by education which acts as a powerful confounder.