Dietary Polyphenol Intake Associated With Lower MCI Odds

Key Points

• Older adults without mild cognitive impairment (MCI) reported higher dietary polyphenol intake than those with MCI.
• Higher intake of total polyphenols, flavonoids, and lignans was associated with lower odds of MCI after adjustment for several demographic and lifestyle factors.
• Specific compounds, including naringenin, hesperetin, quercetin, and several lignans, were associated with better cognitive measures or lower MCI likelihood.
• Some polyphenol subclasses showed modest associations with MMSE and MoCA scores, but total polyphenol intake was not significantly correlated with either score.
• The cross-sectional design and small sample size (92 participants) mean the findings show an association, not that polyphenols prevent or treat MCI.
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Dietary Polyphenol Intake Linked to Lower Odds of Mild Cognitive Impairment

Dietary polyphenol intake was associated with a lower likelihood of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in older adults attending a memory clinic, according to a cross-sectional study published in Antioxidants. Researchers also identified associations between several polyphenol subclasses, individual compounds, and measures of cognitive performance.

Higher Polyphenol Intake Associated With Lower MCI Likelihood

The study included 92 adults aged 65 years or older who attended the Geriatrics Unit at the IRCCS Oasi Research Institute in Troina, Italy. Participants had subjective memory complaints and diagnoses ranging from subjective cognitive decline to MCI and mild vascular cognitive impairment.

Researchers assessed habitual dietary intake using a validated 110-item food frequency questionnaire and estimated polyphenol consumption using the Phenol-Explorer database. Cognitive function was evaluated with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA).

Participants without MCI reported higher total dietary polyphenol intake than those with MCI. They also reported higher consumption of several subclasses, including flavonoids, anthocyanins, flavanones, flavones, hydroxycinnamic acids, and lignans.

After adjustment for energy intake, age, sex, education, and smoking status, participants in the highest intake groups for total polyphenols, flavonoids, and lignans had lower odds of MCI than those in the lowest intake groups. Flavones showed the strongest inverse association among the flavonoid subclasses.

Which Polyphenols Were Associated With Cognitive Performance?

Researchers also examined individual dietary polyphenols. Participants without MCI reported higher intake of compounds such as hesperetin, naringenin, quercetin, lariciresinol, secoisolariciresinol, matairesinol, and pinoresinol.

Several polyphenol subclasses, including anthocyanins, flavonols, flavanones, and hesperetin, showed modest correlations with MMSE scores. MoCA scores also showed positive correlations with some flavanones, flavones, lignans, and individual compounds.

The study further examined inflammatory biomarkers, including TGF-β1 and TNF-α. Among participants with MCI, a higher TGF-β1/TNF-α ratio correlated with lower MMSE and MoCA scores. However, total dietary polyphenol intake did not show a significant association with inflammatory biomarkers.

What Do These Findings Mean for Cognitive Health?

The findings suggest that habitual dietary polyphenol intake may be associated with cognitive status in older adults with memory complaints. However, the researchers did not establish that polyphenols prevent MCI or directly improve cognitive function.

The study’s cross-sectional design, small sample size, dietary recall limitations, residual confounding, single-time-point biomarker measurements, and lack of correction for multiple comparisons limit interpretation. Reverse causation also remains possible because cognitive status could influence dietary habits.

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Longitudinal studies and randomized clinical trials are needed to determine whether specific dietary polyphenols influence cognitive decline and to clarify potential mechanisms involving neuroinflammation, vascular function, mitochondrial activity, and the gut-brain axis.

Source:

MDPI