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. 2021 Aug;60(5):2381-2396.
doi: 10.1007/s00394-020-02415-w. Epub 2020 Oct 30.

Association between coffee consumption and total dietary caffeine intake with cognitive functioning: cross-sectional assessment in an elderly Mediterranean population

Indira Paz-Graniel  1   2   3 , Nancy Babio  4   5   6 , Nerea Becerra-Tomás  1   2   3   7 , Estefania Toledo  3   8 , Lucia Camacho-Barcia  1   2   3 , Dolores Corella  3   9 , Olga Castañer-Niño  3   10 , Dora Romaguera  3   10 , Jesús Vioque  11   12 , Ángel M Alonso-Gómez  3   13 , Julia Wärnberg  3   14 , J Alfredo Martínez  3   15   16 , Luís Serra-Majem  3   17 , Ramon Estruch  3   18 , Francisco J Tinahones  3   19 , Fernando Fernandez-Aranda  3   20 , José Lapetra  3   21 , Xavier Pintó  3   22 , Josep A Tur  3   23   24 , Antonio García-Rios  3   25 , Aurora Bueno-Cavanillas  13   26 , José J Gaforio  11   27 , Pilar Matía-Martín  28 , Lidia Daimiel  29 , Vicente Martín Sánchez  3   30 , Josep Vidal  31   32 , Lucía Prieto-Sanchez  33 , Emilio Ros  3   34 , Cristina Razquin  3   8 , Cristina Mestres  35   36 , José V Sorli  3   9 , Aida M Cuenca-Royo  3   37 , Angel Rios  23 , Laura Torres-Collado  11   12 , Jessica Vaquero-Luna  3   13 , Napoleon Pérez-Farinós  3   38 , M Angeles Zulet  3   15   39 , Almudena Sanchez-Villegas  3   17 , Rosa Casas  3   18 , M Rosa Bernal-Lopez  3   40 , José Manuel Santos-Lozano  3   21 , Xavier Corbella  22   41 , David Mateos  3   11   24 , Pilar Buil-Cosiales  3   8 , Susana Jiménez-Murcia  3   20 , Rebeca Fernandez-Carrion  3   9 , Laura Forcano-Gamazo  3   37 , Meritxell López  23 , Miguel Ángel Sempere-Pascual  42 , Anai Moreno-Rodriguez  3   13 , Alfredo Gea  3   8 , Rafael de la Torre-Fornell  3   37 , Jordi Salas-Salvadó  43   44   45   46 ; PREDIMED-Plus Investigators
Collaborators, Affiliations

Association between coffee consumption and total dietary caffeine intake with cognitive functioning: cross-sectional assessment in an elderly Mediterranean population

Indira Paz-Graniel et al. Eur J Nutr. 2021 Aug.

Abstract

Purpose: Coffee is rich in compounds such as polyphenols, caffeine, diterpenes, melanoidins and trigonelline, which can stimulate brain activity. Therefore, the possible association of coffee consumption with cognition is of considerable research interest. In this paper, we assess the association of coffee consumption and total dietary caffeine intake with the risk of poor cognitive functioning in a population of elderly overweight/obese adults with metabolic syndrome (MetS).

Methods: PREDIMED-plus study participants who completed the Mini-Mental State Examination test (MMSE) (n = 6427; mean age = 65 ± 5 years) or a battery of neuropsychological tests were included in this cross-sectional analysis. Coffee consumption and total dietary caffeine intake were assessed at baseline using a food frequency questionnaire. Logistic regression models were fitted to evaluate the association between total, caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee consumption or total dietary caffeine intake and cognitive impairment.

Results: Total coffee consumers and caffeinated coffee consumers had better cognitive functioning than non-consumers when measured by the MMSE and after adjusting for potential confounders (OR 0.63; 95% CI 0.44-0.90 and OR 0.56; 95% CI 0.38-0.83, respectively). Results were similar when cognitive performance was measured using the Clock Drawing Test (CDT) and Trail Making Test B (TMT-B). These associations were not observed for decaffeinated coffee consumption. Participants in the highest tertile of total dietary caffeine intake had lower odds of poor cognitive functioning than those in the reference tertile when screened by the MMSE (OR 0.64; 95% CI 0.47-0.87) or other neurophysiological tests evaluating a variety of cognitive domains (i.e., CDT and TMT-A).

Conclusions: Coffee consumption and total dietary caffeine intake were associated with better cognitive functioning as measured by various neuropsychological tests in a Mediterranean cohort of elderly individuals with MetS.

Trial registration: ISRCTN89898870. Registration date: July 24, 2014.

Keywords: Caffeine; Coffee; Cognitive impairment; Mini-Mental State Examination; PREDIMED-plus.

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