Associations of Dietary Pattern and Sleep Duration with Cognitive Decline in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Seven-Year Follow-Up Cohort Study

Abstract

Background: A few studies have linked dietary patterns and sleep to cognitive decline. Objective: To examine the independent and joint associations of dietary patterns and sleep with cognitive decline. Methods: Our analysis included 2,307 participants aged 55– 89 years at baseline from the China Health and Nutrition Survey. Dietary intake was assessed using weighing methods in combination with 24 h dietary recalls for three consecutive days. Exploratory factor analysis was applied to identify major dietary factors. Cognition was assessed in 1997, 2000, 2004, 2006, and 2015. Results: Five dietary patterns were identified: dairy-fruits-fast foods, grains-vegetables-pork, plant-based food, beans-mushroom, and beverages-nuts patterns. Beans-mushroom pattern and sleep duration of 8 h/day were defined as healthy habits. There was a positive association between the beans-mushroom pattern and change in the global cognitive Z-score over seven years (β (95% CI) for quintile 5 versus quintile 1:0.17 (0.05, 0.30)). Compared to individuals with sleep duration of 8 h/day, those with sleep duration of≤5 h/day (β (95% CI): – 0.23 (– 0.45, – 0.00)) or > 10 h/day (– 0.52 (– 0.73, – 0.32)) had a greater decrease in global cognitive Z-score. Compared to individuals with no healthy patterns, those with a healthy dietary pattern only (β (95% CI): 0.18 (0.08, 0.28)), healthy sleep pattern only (0.13 (0.04, 0.23), and both healthy dietary and sleep patterns (0.19 (0.08, 0.31)) had a relative increase in global cognitive Z-score. Conclusion: Our findings highlight the importance of involving both diet and sleep as intervention priorities for the potential prevention of cognitive decline.