Di Liu¹, Ying Zhang², Ziyan Ren¹, Xuan Wu¹, Wenzhuo Zhang¹, Yu Xia^3,, Zhongxiao Wan^1,

To explore the relationship between dietary Nε-(carboxymethyl) lysine (CML) intake and specific cognitive function of the elderly via the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). A total of 2,321 eligible participants (≥60 years old) of NHANES 2011-2014 were included. Dietary CML intake was calculated via coupling the 24-hour dietary recall questionnaire with developed dietary AGEs database. Cognitive assessment was based on scores from the word learning and recall modules. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the associations between the daily intake of dietary CML and cognitive performance, and stratified analysis according to gender, hypertension and diabetes status was also performed. After adjusting for potential confounders, the dietary CML contents were negatively correlated with the overall cognitive function (OR: 1.43; 95% CI: 1.11,1.85). Compared to those with low dietary CML content, the OR with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of the risk of overall cognitive impairment in participants in the high dietary CML content group was 2.12 (1.19, 3.77) in those aged 60 to 69 years. The ORs for participants with high dietary CML content at the risk of overall cognitive impairment as well as immediate learning ability were 1.95 (1.19, 3.19) and 1.86 (1.08, 3.22) for those without hypertension, and 1.53 (1.15, 2.03), 1.44 (1.01, 2.05) for those without diabetes, respectively. There was a negative correlation between the dietary CML content and cognitive function in the elderly participants aged 60 years and above in the United States. This effect might be more pronounced in those aged 60 to 69 years, non-hypertensive and non-diabetic participants.

dietary advanced glycation end products, Nε-(carboxymethyl) lysine, cognitive impairment, elderly, NHANES