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Higher circulating α-carotene was associated with better cognitive function: an evaluation among the MIND trial participants
Liu X, Dhana K, Furtado JD, Agarwal P, Aggarwal NT, Tangney C, Laranjo N, Carey V et al.. Journal of nutritional science, 2021-08-16
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
There is emerging evidence linking fruit and vegetable consumption and cognitive function. However, studies focusing on the nutrients underlying this relationship are lacking. We aim to examine the association between plasma nutrients and cognition in a population at risk for cognitive decline with a suboptimal diet. The Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) trial is a randomized controlled intervention that examines the effects of the MIND diet to prevent cognitive decline. The primary outcome is global cognition. A multivariate linear model was used to investigate the association between blood nutrients and global and/or domain-specific cognition. The model was adjusted for age, sex, education, study site, smoking status, cognitive activities and physical activities. High plasma α-carotene was associated with better global cognition. Participants in the highest tertile of plasma α-carotene had a higher global cognition z score of 0⋅17 when compared with individuals in the lowest tertile ( P 0⋅002). Circulating α-carotene levels were also associated with higher semantic memory scores ( P for trend 0⋅007). Lutein and zeaxanthin (combined) was positively associated with higher semantic memory scores ( P for trend 0⋅009). Our study demonstrated that higher α-carotene levels in blood were associated with higher global cognition scores in a US population at risk for cognitive decline. The higher α-carotene levels in blood reflected greater intakes of fruits, other types of vegetables and lesser intakes of butter and margarine and meat. The higher circulating levels of lutein plus zeaxanthin reflected a dietary pattern with high intakes of fruits, green leafy, other vegetables and cheese, and low consumption of fried foods. Objective nutrient markers in the blood can better characterize dietary intake, which may facilitate the implementation of a tailored dietary intervention for the prevention of cognitive decline.
Key findings
- High plasma α-carotene was associated with better global cognition.
- Participants in the highest tertile of plasma α-carotene had a higher global cognition z score of 0⋅17 when compared with individuals in the lowest tertile ( P 0⋅002).
- Circulating α-carotene levels were also associated with higher semantic memory scores ( P for trend 0⋅007).
- Lutein and zeaxanthin (combined) was positively associated with higher semantic memory scores ( P for trend 0⋅009).
- Our study demonstrated that higher α-carotene levels in blood were associated with higher global cognition scores in a US population at risk for cognitive decline.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 76/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a randomised controlled trial. Scored zero for sample size and effect reported because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 44 of the 58 points we could judge it on, which is 76 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Journal of nutritional science) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 11 / 12 | A randomised controlled trial (from PubMed type “Randomized Controlled Trial”) |
| Strength of evidence | 5 / 5 | Rated “high” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 3 / 5 | 2021 — within 6 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (pubmed indexes it as a clinical or observational study) |
| Randomised / blinded | 1 / 2 | Randomised (as stated in the record) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 34527222) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Points | 44 / 58 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 44 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 76 out of 100. |
| Total | 76 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
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APA 7th
Liu, X., Dhana, K., Furtado, J. D., Agarwal, P., Aggarwal, N. T., Tangney, C., et al. (2021). Higher circulating α-carotene was associated with better cognitive function: an evaluation among the MIND trial participants. Journal of nutritional science. https://doi.org/10.1017/jns.2021.56
Vancouver
Liu X, Dhana K, Furtado JD, Agarwal P, Aggarwal NT, Tangney C, et al. Higher circulating α-carotene was associated with better cognitive function: an evaluation among the MIND trial participants. Journal of nutritional science. 2021. doi:10.1017/jns.2021.56. PMID: 34527222.
BibTeX
@article{liu2021-34527222,
author = {Liu, X. and Dhana, K. and Furtado, J. D. and Agarwal, P. and Aggarwal, N. T. and Tangney, C. and Laranjo, N. and Carey, V. and others},
title = {{Higher circulating α-carotene was associated with better cognitive function: an evaluation among the MIND trial participants}},
journal = {Journal of nutritional science},
year = {2021},
doi = {10.1017/jns.2021.56},
pmid = {34527222},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1017/jns.2021.56}
}
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