Journal
BRITISH JOURNAL OF NUTRITION
Volume 114, Issue 7, Pages 1080-1087Publisher
CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1017/S0007114515001634
Keywords
Diet quality; Diet; Children; Brain; Cognition
Categories
Funding
- Ministry of Social Affairs and Health of Finland
- Ministry of Education and Culture of Finland
- University of Eastern Finland
- Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra
- Social Insurance Institution of Finland
- Finnish Cultural Foundation
- Juho Vainio Foundation
- Foundation for Paediatric Research
- Paavo Nurmi Foundation
- Paulo Foundation
- Diabetes Research Foundation
- Research Committee of the Kuopio University Hospital Catchment Area (State Research Funding)
- Kuopio University Hospital (EVO funding) [5031343]
- Paivikki and Sakari Sohlberg Foundation, City of Kuopio
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Evidence on the associations of dietary patterns with cognition in children is limited. Therefore, we investigated the associations of the Baltic Sea Diet Score (BSDS) and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) score with cognition in children. The present cross-sectional study sample included 428 children aged 6-8 years (216 boys and 212 girls). The BSDS and the DASH score were calculated using data from 4 d food records, higher scores indicating better diet quality. Cognition was assessed by the Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices (CPM) score, a higher score indicating better cognition. Among all children, the BSDS (standardised regression coefficient beta = 0.122, P = 0.012) and the DASH score (beta = 0.121, P = 0.015) were directly associated with the Raven's CPM score. Among boys, a lower BSDS (beta = 0.244, P < 0.001) and a lower DASH score (beta = 0.202, P = 0.003) were related to a lower Raven's CPM score. Boys in the lowest quartile of the BSDS (22.5 v. 25.3, P = 0.029) and the DASH score (22.4 v. 25.7, P = 0.008) had a lower Raven's CPM score than those in the highest quartile of the corresponding score. Among girls, the BSDS or the DASH score were not associated with cognition. In conclusion, a poorer diet quality was associated with worse cognition in children, and the relationship was stronger in boys than in girls.
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