Associations between the Empirical Dietary Inflammatory Index and Cognitive Function Status in Community-Dwelling Elderly People of Tehran, Iran

Inflammation plays important roles in development of several chronic diseases, including cognitive functions. Neuritis in the brain can lead to decreased cognitive function in elderly people. Diet is one of the factors affecting inflammation. The empirical dietary inflammatory index is a novel tool that assesses the overall inflammatory potential of diets by generating experimental scores based on the food groups. The aim of this study was to investigate relationships between the empirical dietary inflammatory index and the cognitive function status in elderly people of Tehran, Iran.

This cross-sectional study was carried out on 173 literate (at least the end of primary school) elderly participants (60+ years), referring to the health centers of retirement houses in five districts of Tehran, 2019. General questionnaire, food frequency and mini-mental state examination were completed using interviews. Data analysis was carried out using SPSS Software.

In this study, relationships between the empirical dietary inflammatory index and the classifications of this index was assessed using the statuses of cognitive function. However, no statistically significant relationships were seen between these categories and the statuses of cognitive function. Vitamin D supplementation (monthly), waist circumference and economic status were significantly associated to cognitive function (p < 0.05).

In the present study, no statistically significant relationships were reported between the experimental inflammatory index of diets and cognitive function statuses of elderly people aged 60 years or older.