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Meta-Analysis
. 2019 Jul 24;11(8):1706.
doi: 10.3390/nu11081706.

Comparative Effect of Low-Glycemic Index versus High-Glycemic Index Breakfasts on Cognitive Function: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Celia Álvarez-Bueno  1   2 , Vicente Martínez-Vizcaíno  3   4 , Estela Jiménez López  1   5   6 , María Eugenia Visier-Alfonso  1 , Andrés Redondo-Tébar  1 , Iván Cavero-Redondo  1   2
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Comparative Effect of Low-Glycemic Index versus High-Glycemic Index Breakfasts on Cognitive Function: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Celia Álvarez-Bueno et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to compare the effect of High-Glycemic Index (GI) versus Low-GI breakfasts on cognitive functions, including memory and attention, of children and adolescents. We systematically searched the MEDLINE (via PubMed), EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and Web of Science databases, from their inception until June 2019. Articles comparing the effect of Low-GI versus High-GI breakfasts on the cognitive function (i.e., immediate memory, delayed memory, and attention) of children and adolescents were included. The DerSimonian and Laird method was used to compute the pooled effect sizes (ESs) and their respective 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The pooled ESs were 0.13 (95% CI: -0.11, 0.37) for immediate memory and 0.07 (95% CI: -0.15, 0.28) for delayed memory. For attention, the pooled ES was -0.01 (95% CI: -0.27, 0.26). In summary, GI breakfasts do not affect cognitive domains in children and adolescents.

Keywords: attention; breakfast; cognitive functions; glycemic index; memory.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Literature search of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) diagram.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Forest plots of the effect size for the glycemic-index breakfast intervention in children and adolescents, according to the cognitive domains. (a) Experiment 1: Mahoney et al. 2005; (b) Experiment 2: Mahoney et al. 2005; (c) High-glycemic load group; (d) Low-glycemic load group. CI: confidence intervals.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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