Relationship between dietary antioxidant index and cognitive decline in elderly patients with obesity

[Objective] To investigate the relationship between dietary antioxidant index (DAI) and cognitive function decline in elderly obese patients. [Methods] A total of 200 elderly obese patients admitted to Peking University First Hospital Taiyuan Hospital from June 2021 to December 2023 were selected. Clinical data of the patients were collected, the cognitive function of the patients was evaluated by MMSE score, food intake was evaluated by FFQ questionnaire, and DAI score was calculated. Patients with MMSE score < 27 were included in the cognitive function decline group. The remaining patients were included in the group with normal cognitive function. Clinical data, dietary intake, DAI score and logistic regression were compared between the two groups to analyze the correlation between cognitive decline and DAI. [Results] Among 200 elderly obese patients, 39 had MMSE < 27, accounting for 19.50%. There were significant differences in age, proportion of diabetes mellitus, body mass index, triglyceride, MMSE score and scores of each dimension between the two groups (P<0.05). The total energy intake and saturated fatty acid of cognitive function decline group were higher than those of cognitive function normal group (P<0.05), the protein, vitamin E, vitamin B1, folate, total dietary fiber intake and DAI score of cognitive function decline group were lower than those of cognitive function normal group (P<0.05); logistic analysis showed that DAI was negatively correlated with cognitive function decline (OR=0.861, 95%CI: 0.851-0.923, P=0.032). After adjusting for confounding factors such as age, diabetes, BMI, TG and education (OR=0.902, 95%CI: 0.817-0.937, P=0.014) and total energy intake （OR=0.913，95%CI：0.773～0.981，P=0.021）,the association remained significant. [Conclusion] Dietary antioxidant index is negatively correlated with cognitive decline in elderly obese patients, and the higher the DAI score, the lower the risk of cognitive decline.