ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Nutr.
Sec. Nutritional Epidemiology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1605016
This article is part of the Research TopicEating Behavior and Chronic Diseases: Research Evidence from Population Studies, Volume IIView all 12 articles
Dietary Adherence and Cognitive Performance in Older Adults: Insights from a Nationwide Survey in China
Provisionally accepted
- 1Xi'an Medical University, Xi'an, China
- 2Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Background Dietary guidelines, integrating the latest scientific evidence with traditional dietary culture, are regularly issued to provide dietary recommendations and promote health. However, the relationship between adherence to dietary guidelines and cognitive health has yet to be fully elucidated. In this study, we specifically examine the association between adherence to the Dietary Guidelines for Chinese (DGC) and cognitive performance among older adults. Methods We analyzed data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) (2011 and 2015), including participants aged ≥ 60 years. Adherence to the DGC was assessed using the Chinese Healthy Eating Index (CHEI). Cognitive performance was evaluated across the following three domains: 1) memory (immediate and delayed recall), 2) attention/executive function (counting backward from 20), and 3) processing speed (serial 7 subtraction). A composite z-score was derived to represent global cognition.Multivariate logistic regression and restricted cubic spline models were used to assess associations. Results Among 2174 older adults, higher CHEI scores were significantly associated with better performance at counting backward (attention/executive function, P<0.05), serial 7 subtraction (processing speed, P<0.01), and global cognition (P<0.01). A significant interaction effect was observed between the CHEI and nationality in relation to cognitive performance (Pinteraction<0.05).Among the 17 CHEI components, only adherence to the recommended intake of fish and seafood (OR: 0.55; 95% CI: 0.37, 0.82) was independently linked to better cognitive performance. Sensitivity analyses excluding individuals with diabetes or 3 overweight or obesity, and treating cognitive performance as a continuous outcome yielded consistent results (P<0.05). Conclusions Greater adherence to the DGC was associated with better cognitive performance, particularly in processing speed and attention/executive function. Promoting adherence to dietary guidelines may be a viable strategy for preserving cognitive health in aging populations.
Keywords: dietary guidance, CHEI, cognitive performance, older adults, CHNS
Received: 02 Apr 2025; Accepted: 14 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Fan, Yu, Tan, Ma and Men. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Yan Yu, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
Ke Men, Xi'an Medical University, Xi'an, 710021, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.