QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Online Supplemental Material All Versions of this Article: 139/1/120    most recent jn.108.095182v1 Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Nurk, E. Articles by Smith, A. D. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Nurk, E. Articles by Smith, A. D.

---

Nutritional Epidemiology

Intake of Flavonoid-Rich Wine, Tea, and Chocolate by Elderly Men and Women Is Associated with Better Cognitive Test Performance^1–3,

⁴ Department of Nutrition, University of Oslo, 0316 Oslo, Norway; ⁵ Oxford Project to Investigate Memory and Ageing and Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford, OX1 3QX Oxford, United Kingdom; ⁶ Department of Public Health and Primary Health Care, University of Bergen, 5020 Bergen, Norway; ⁷ NKS Olaviken Hospital for Old Age Psychiatry, 5306 Erdal, Norway; and ⁸ Department of Geriatric Medicine, Norwegian Centre for Dementia Research, Ullevål University Hospital, 0407 Oslo, Norway

In a cross-sectional study, we examined the relation between intake of 3 common foodstuffs that contain flavonoids (chocolate, wine, and tea) and cognitive performance. 2031 participants (70–74 y, 55% women) recruited from the population-based Hordaland Health Study in Norway underwent cognitive testing. A cognitive test battery included the Kendrick Object Learning Test, Trail Making Test, part A (TMT-A), modified versions of the Digit Symbol Test, Block Design, Mini-Mental State Examination, and Controlled Oral Word Association Test. Poor cognitive performance was defined as a score in the highest decile for the TMT-A and in the lowest decile for all other tests. A self-reported FFQ was used to assess habitual food intake. Participants who consumed chocolate, wine, or tea had significantly better mean test scores and lower prevalence of poor cognitive performance than those who did not. Participants who consumed all 3 studied items had the best test scores and the lowest risks for poor test performance. The associations between intake of these foodstuffs and cognition were dose dependent, with maximum effect at intakes of 10 g/d for chocolate and 75–100 mL/d for wine, but approximately linear for tea. Most cognitive functions tested were influenced by intake of these 3 foodstuffs. The effect was most pronounced for wine and modestly weaker for chocolate intake. Thus, in the elderly, a diet high in some flavonoid-rich foods is associated with better performance in several cognitive abilities in a dose-dependent manner.

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: david.smith{at}pharm.ox.ac.uk.

Manuscript received 26 June 2008. Initial review completed 29 August 2008. Revision accepted 21 October 2008.

Published online 3 December 2008.