(P09-017-25) Associations of Cognitive Status, Sex and Diet in Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of the Microbiome in Aging Gut and Brain (MiaGB) Study

Objectives: This study aims to explore the relationships among cognitive status, age, sex and diet in adults 60 and older in the Microbiome in aging Gut and Brain (MiaGB) consortium.

Methods: Data were analyzed from this multi-site clinical study examining the risk between aging and the microbiome. The analysis included variables such as age, sex and dietary intake based on 24-hour recall to calculate the Healthy Eating Index (HEI) and Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII). Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA) was used to assess cognitive status.

Results: Analysis was completed on n=271 participants (women n=184 and male n=87). The mean female and male ages were 72.1 and 72.6, respectively. The mean MOCA score for females was 26.0 ± 3.9 and for males 24.4 ± 5.1. Males had a higher proportion of cognitive impairment (46%) compared to female participants (32.6%) (χ²(1) = 4.53, p = 0.033), independent of age. There was a significant weak inverse correlation between age and MOCA score (r_s=-.0212, p< 0.001). There was no difference in HEI or DII scores between those with (mean HEI= 62.7 ± 1.7; mean DII= -4.6 ± 0.2) and without cognitive impairment (mean HEI= 64.8 ± 1.2; mean DII= -4.9 ± 0.1). With respect to the adequacy of dairy intake, there was a significant difference between MCI (met 43% of the recommendations) and no MCI (met 55% of recommendations) (p=0.023).

Conclusions: In contrast to previous research showing that females are at higher risk for cognitive impairment, the findings of this cross-sectional analysis suggest that males have higher cognitive impairment as assessed by the MOCA test. Our results also indicate that dairy intake may play a role in cognitive health.

Funding Sources: Florida Department of Health (22A17), and the National Institutes of Health [R56AG069676, R56AG064075, R01AG071762, R21AG072379, and U01AG076928 and R21AG082164].