ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Nutr.
Sec. Nutrition, Psychology and Brain Health
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1626651
Analysis of the association between dietary sodium intake and cognitive function: A NHANES-based machine learning study and animal experimental validation
Provisionally accepted
- 1Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
- 2The Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu', China
- 3The Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
- 4School of Basic Medical Sciences, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
- 5Department of Pediatrics, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University, The First People's Hospital of Zunyi, Zunyi, China
- 6School of Health Preservation and Rehabilitation, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
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Background: Sodium intake is undoubtedly essential for normal bodily function, but it is an important public health concern when intake exceeds dietary requirements, and with salt intake exceeding recommended levels in almost all countries, high salt intake has become an important global health topic. This study is the first to combine epidemiological big data with animal behavioral experiments to systematically investigate the association between dietary sodium intake and cognitive function. Methods: On the basis of NHANES data from 2011--2014, the association between dietary sodium intake and cognitive impairment was assessed via multivariate linear regression and five types of machine learning, including random forest and XGBoost, in 2367 participants aged 60--80 years. Cognitive function was further assessed by a 6-month high-salt dietary intervention in a C57BL/6 mouse model combined with behavioral tests such as the Morris water maze and absent field experiments.The results of the study revealed that the average daily sodium intake of the 2367 middle-aged and older adults included reached 4502 mg, with 91% exceeding the recommended standard. Dietary sodium intake was positively correlated with cognitive function scores (p<0.001). The random forest model had the best predictive efficacy (AUC=0.918), which was significantly better than that of the SVM and neural networks. Animal behavioral experiments revealed that
Keywords: Sodium intake, Cognitive Function, NHANES, machine learning, animal behavior
Received: 11 May 2025; Accepted: 18 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Deng, Zhao, 祎, Guo, Jin and Qi. 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:
Hongjiao Jin, Department of Pediatrics, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University, The First People's Hospital of Zunyi, Zunyi, China
Luming Qi, School of Health Preservation and Rehabilitation, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
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