Association between dietary pattern and cognitive function of elderly in Tianjin

Objective To determine the association of dietary diversity and dietary pattern with cognitive function in elderly in community.

Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted to randomly select 143 elderly people over 65 years old in Wangdingdi Community of Tianjin. Self-designed questionnaire was used and then dietary diversity index was calculated. Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Chinese Revised （WAIS-RC） was used to measure intelligence quotient （IQ） to assess cognitive function. Factor analysis and multivariate linear regression model were used to extract dietary patterns and determine the association of dietary diversity index and dietary patterns with cognitive function， respectively.

Results Factor analysis revealed four dietary patterns， which were meat and cereal dietary pattern， fish and poultry milk dietary pattern， bean vegetable dietary pattern， and egg dietary pattern. Multivariate linear regression showed that egg dietary pattern was significantly associated with performance IQ （P<0.05）， suggesting that egg dietary pattern may have a protective effect on IQ of the elderly. There was no significant association between dietary diversity and cognitive function in the elderly （P>0.05）.

Conclusion Egg dietary pattern may protect cognitive function in the elderly. Therefore， the elderly should increase the intake of eggs in daily diet.