Total Cholesterol Levels and Sustained Attention in University Undergraduates

University students often exhibit unhealthy eating patterns, and several studies have documented negative associations between serum total cholesterol (TC) levels and cognitive function in mature adult samples. Therefore, university students may be at risk for functionally meaningful cognitive decre...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:North American journal of psychology 2018-03, Vol.20 (1), p.81-90
Main Authors: Gendle, Mathew H, Snapp, Kaitlin R, Shuback, Angela T
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adults
At risk students
Attention
Birth control
Body mass index
Brain research
Caffeine
Cholesterol
Cognition & reasoning
Cognitive ability
College students
Colleges & universities
Learning
Lipids
Low density lipoprotein receptors
Memory
Metabolism
Neurosciences
Nutrition
Self report
Signal transduction
Systematic review
University students
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Summary:University students often exhibit unhealthy eating patterns, and several studies have documented negative associations between serum total cholesterol (TC) levels and cognitive function in mature adult samples. Therefore, university students may be at risk for functionally meaningful cognitive decrements resulting from poor dietary choices. This study examined the relationship between TC levels and sustained attention in university undergraduates. Following an overnight fast, TC levels were measured, and each participant completed the Conners Continuous Performance Test II (CPT-II). After controlling for self-reported sex, caffeine consumption, and use of hormone-based contraceptives, participants with TC>155 mg/dL were found to make significantly more omission errors and perseverations on the CPT-II than participants with TC< 155mg/dL. Student health programs should emphasize the positive cognitive outcomes of healthy dietary practices in addition to their beneficial effects on systemic health.
ISSN:1527-7143