Association Between Cognitive Performance and Nutritional Status: Analysis From LASI-DAD

• Published in: Gerontology and geriatric medicine 2023-01, Vol.9, p.23337214231194965
• Main Authors: Bhagwasia, Manjusha, Rao, Abhijith R., Banerjee, Joyita, Bajpai, Swati, Raman, Aruna V., Talukdar, Arunanshu, Jain, Arvind, Rajguru, Chhaya, Sankhe, Lalit, Goswami, Debabrata, Shanthi, Ganapathy Sankaralingam, Kumar, Govind, Varghese, Mathew, Dhar, Minakshi, Gupta, Monica, A-Koul, Parvaiz, Mohanty, Rashmi Ranjan, Chakrabarti, Sankha Shubhra, Yadati, Sathyanarayana Raju, Dey, Sharmistha, Dey, Aparajit Ballav
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cognitive ability; Dementia; Malnutrition; Nutritional status; Older people
• ISSN: 2333-7214; 2333-7214
• DOI: 10.1177/23337214231194965

Malnutrition in low- and middle-income countries causes cognitive decline and other health problems. Harmonized Diagnostic Assessment of Dementia for Longitudinal Aging Study in India (LASI DAD) is an extensive study on late-life cognition and dementia. This study examines the link between nutrition and cognitive abilities in older adults using data from the LASI DAD. We conducted descriptive statistics on nutritional parameters (body-mass index, waist-hip ratio, and Mini-Nutritional Assessment), cognitive functions, and socio-demographic variables in 2,892 adults aged ≥60 years. Cognitive domains assessed included delayed recall, orientation, language, executive function, abstract reasoning, and attention. Cognitive impairment was defined as impaired performance in two or more domains. Mean age was 69.3 ± 7.1 years, 52.9% were female, and 57.5% were illiterate. Low body-mass index (adjusted OR: 1.88, p