The Association Between Eating Green Vegetables Every Day And Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Community-Based Cross-Sectional Study In Shanghai

Abstract

Background

Emerging evidence has suggested that green vegetables may prevent cognitive decline.

Methods

We examined the cross-sectional association between green vegetables intake and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) using data from 525 participants aged 55 years and above from the China Longitudinal Aging Study (CLAS) in Shanghai.

Results

Compared with participants who did not eat green vegetables every day, those who had consumed green vegetables every day had a significantly lower risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) (OR = 0.218, 95% CI, 0.116–0.411, p < 0.001), and this association was independent of age, education, having hobbies, surfing the Internet, sleep time per night (youth), long-term residency and consumption of specific red food, such as meat, bread, bean curd, and ginger.

Conclusion

In summary, using community-based data in Shanghai, we found out that subjects who eat green vegetables every day have significantly lower odds of MCI than those who do not eat every day. Based on current evidence, we propose that eating green vegetables every day might be a potential preventive measure to slow cognitive decline and neurodegeneration in the elderly.

Keywords:

• elderly
• Chinese
• dietetic association
• green vegetables
• cognitive impairment

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by grants from Shanghai Jiao Tong University Technological Innovation Special Fund (YG2016MS38) and Shanghai Mental Health Center Clinical Research Center (CRC2017ZD02).

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.