WEDNESDAY, Feb. 21, 2024 (HealthDay News) — For older individuals, dietary thiamine intake has a J-shaped association with cognitive decline, with an inflection point of 0.68 mg/day, according to a study published online Feb. 20 in General Psychiatry.

Chengzhang Liu, from Anhui Medical University in China, and colleagues examined the association between dietary thiamine intake and cognitive decline in 3,106 cognitively healthy, older Chinese individuals. Dietary nutrient intake information was collected through three-day dietary recalls and using a three-day food-weighed method.

Participants were followed for a median of 5.9 years. The researchers identified a J-shaped relationship between dietary thiamine intake and the five-year decline rate in global and composite cognitive scores, with an inflection point of 0.68 mg/day; minimal risk was seen at 0.60 to 1.00 mg/day of dietary thiamine intake. No significant association was seen for thiamine intake before the inflection point with cognitive decline. Each unit increase in thiamine intake beyond the inflection point was associated with significant decreases of 4.24 points in the global score and 0.49 standard units in the composite score within five years. In those with hypertension and/or obesity and in nonsmokers, a stronger positive association between thiamine intake and cognitive decline was seen.

“If substantiated by further research, our study highlights the importance of maintaining optimal dietary thiamine intake levels in the general older population to prevent cognitive decline,” the authors write.

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