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Quantity and variety of fruit and vegetable intake in midlife and cognitive impairment in late life: a prospective cohort study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 March 2022

Li-Ting Sheng Open the ORCID record for Li-Ting Sheng [Opens in a new window] ,
Yi-Wen Jiang ,
Derrick Johnston Alperet ,
Lei Feng ,
An Pan  and
Woon-Puay Koh
Li-Ting Sheng
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Environment and Health and State Key Laboratory of Environmental Health (Incubating), School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province 430030, People’s Republic of China The Affiliated Suzhou Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Suzhou Municipal Hospital, Gusu School, Nanjing Medical University, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, People’s Republic of China
Yi-Wen Jiang
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Environment and Health and State Key Laboratory of Environmental Health (Incubating), School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province 430030, People’s Republic of China
Derrick Johnston Alperet
Affiliation:
A*STAR Graduate Academy, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA
Lei Feng
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore
An Pan*
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Environment and Health and State Key Laboratory of Environmental Health (Incubating), School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province 430030, People’s Republic of China Key Laboratory of Systems Biology, Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China
Woon-Puay Koh*
Affiliation:
Healthy Longevity Translational Research Programme, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore
*
*Corresponding authors: A. Pan, email panan@hust.edu.cn; W-P. Koh, email kohwp@nus.edu.sg
*Corresponding authors: A. Pan, email panan@hust.edu.cn; W-P. Koh, email kohwp@nus.edu.sg
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Abstract

There is limited evidence on fruit and vegetable intake in relation to cognitive function. This study aimed to evaluate the associations of quantity and variety in fruit and vegetable intake in midlife with cognitive impairment in late life. We used data from 16 737 participants of the Singapore Chinese Health Study, a population-based cohort study. The participants provided dietary data at recruitment at median age of 52·5 (range: 45–74) years and also participated in the third follow-up interview 20 years later at median age of 72·2 (range: 61–96) years. Quantity and variety of fruits and vegetables consumed at baseline were measured using a validated FFQ. Cognitive impairment at the third follow-up was defined using a Singapore-modified version of Mini-Mental State Examination. About 14·3 % participants had cognitive impairment. In multivariable logistic regression models, comparing extreme quartiles for intake of fruits and vegetables combined, the OR (95 % CI) associated with cognitive impairment was 0·83 (95 % CI: 0·73, 0·95; P-trend = 0·006) for quantity and 0·76 (95 % CI: 0·67, 0·87; P-trend< 0·001) for variety scores. Independently, those with increased variety of fruit intake or higher quantity of vegetable intake also had significantly 22 % and 15 % reduced odds of cognitive impairment, respectively. Finally, compared with those with low intake for both quantity and variety, those with both high quantity and variety for fruits and vegetables had 23 % reduction in odds of cognitive impairment. In conclusion, increase in quantity and variety of fruits and vegetables in midlife may reduce the risk of cognitive impairment in late life.

Keywords

FruitVegetableCognitive functionCohort studyChineseDiet
Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Nutrition , Volume 129 , Issue 12 , 28 June 2023 , pp. 2084 - 2093
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Nutrition Society

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