Association Between Chili Intake and Cognitive Function in the Elderly Population and the Modifying Effect of Body Mass Index.

Objective To explore the association between dietary chili intake and cognitive function in the elderly population and the modifying effect of body mass index. Methods On the basis of the baseline survey data of the West China Elderly Health Cohort,a cross-sectional design was adopted,and 1 961 older adults aged 60 and above who had completed a dietary survey were included in this study.Multivariate linear regression and multivariate Logistic regression models were used to explore the associations of chili intake with cognitive function score and cognitive decline,respectively.Stratified analysis was performed to explore whether the associations varied among different body mass index groups. Results Among the surveyed older adults,1 119(57.06%) were diagnosed as with cognitive decline by minimum mental state examination.The results of multivariate linear regression analysis showed that after adjusting for possible confounding factors in turn,the score of chili intake had a stable positive correlation with cognitive function score(<i>β</i>=0.086,95%<i>CI</i>=0.010-0.163,<i>P</i>=0.027).Compared with those who did not have chili intake,the following groups had increased cognitive function scores:those with low chili intake(<i>β</i>=0.559,95%<i>CI</i>=0.023-1.096,<i>P</i>=0.041) or moderate chili intake(<i>β</i>=0.641,95%<i>CI</i>=0.075-1.207,<i>P</i>=0.026),those who had chili intake 1-5 days per week(<i>β</i>=0.994,95%<i>CI</i>=0.430-1.558,<i>P</i>=0.001),those who began chili intake over the age of 18(<i>β</i>=0.797,95%<i>CI</i>=0.172-1.422,<i>P</i>=0.013),those who began chili intake at the age of 18 and under(<i>β</i>=0.476,95%<i>CI</i>=0.045-0.907,<i>P</i>=0.031),those had mild chili intake(<i>β</i>=0.471,95%<i>CI</i>=0.047-0.896,<i>P</i>=0.030),and those who had high chili intake(<i>β</i>=0.982,95%<i>CI</i>=0.275-1.689,<i>P</i>=0.007).Logistic regression analysis showed that chili intake 1-5 days per week(<i>OR</i>=0.634,95%<i>CI</i>=0.474-0.849,<i>P</i>=0.002) was associated with a lower risk of cognitive decline than those without chili intake.Stratified analysis showed that the positive association between chili intake and cognitive function was more significant in the group with body mass index ≥24 kg/m²,and the higher score of chili intake corresponded to the lower risk of cognitive decline(<i>OR</i>=0.924,95%<i>CI</i>=0.875-0.975,<i>P</i>=0.004). Conclusions Appropriate chili intake may have a protective effect on cognitive function in the elderly population,especially in the overweight and obese elderly.Prospective studies are needed to further verify the causal relationship.