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Consumption of dietary nuts in midlife and risk of cognitive impairment in late-life: the Singapore Chinese Health Study.

Jiang, Y.W., L.-T. Sheng L. Feng, A. Pan, W.-P. Koh, 2020. Consumption of dietary nuts in midlife and risk of cognitive impairment in late-life: the Singapore Chinese Health Study. Age and Ageing. 1–7 doi: 10.1093/ageing/afaa267.

Background: evidence from prospective studies investigating the association between consumption of nuts in midlife and risk of cognitive impairment in late life is limited. Methods: this study analysed data from 16,737 participants in a population-based cohort, the Singapore Chinese Health Study. Intake of nuts was assessed using a validated food-frequency questionnaire at baseline (1993–1998), when participants were 45–74 years old (mean age = 53.5 years). Cognitive function was tested using the Singapore modified Mini-Mental State Examination during the third follow-up visit (2014–2016), when participants were 61–96 years old (mean age = 73.2 years). Cognitive impairment was defined using education-specific cut-off points. Logistic regression models were used to estimate the odds ratio (OR) and the 95% confidence interval (CI) for the association between intake and risk of cognitive impairment. Results: cognitive impairment was identified in 2,397 (14.3%) participants. Compared with those who consumed < 0.001). Conclusion: higher intake of nuts in midlife was related to a lower risk of cognitive impairment in late life, which was partly mediated by unsaturated fatty acids.