Table 4.
Cognitive scores in healthy adults (>50 years) at baseline (0 month) and after three and six months of consuming one medium avocado a day (Avocado, n = 20) or one medium potato or one cup of chickpeas a day (Control, n = 20) for six months. Mean (SD).
| Avocado | Control | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baseline | 3 Months | 6 Months | Baseline | 3 Months | 6 Months | |
| CRT mean latency msec | 347.4 (55.4) | 355.0 (53.2) | 342.8 (56.8) | 356.0 (70.6) | 367.0 (76.5) | 359.1 (75.5) |
| RVIP signal detection 4 | 0.86 (0.21) | 0.92 (0.04) | 0.93 (0.04) | 0.90 (0.05) | 0.92 (0.05) | 0.92 (0.05) |
| DMS percent correct all delays | 84.7 (12.8) a | 86.0 (10.4) | 84.7 (13.5) | 80.0 (9.4) | 85.3 (11.2) | 83.0 (12.1) |
| PAL total errors (adjusted) 2 | 28.0 (17.8) | 17.5 (14.2) c | 19.5 (15.5) d | 27.3 (18.7) | 17.9 (17.0) e | 16.8 (14.9) e |
| SS Forward highest span | 5.8 (1.2) | 6.2 (1.3) | 5.8 (1.2) | 5.8 (1.1) | 6.1 (1.3) | 6.1 (1.5) |
| SS Reverse highest span 1 | 5.3 (1.6) | 5.3 (1.3) | 5.5 (1.4) | 5.0 (1.0) | 5.6 (1.4) | 5.7 (2.0) b |
| SWM errors 3 | 52.5 (19.6) | 43.6 (19.8) f | 48.4 (17.3) | 50.7 (19.1) | 47.80 (17.6) | 42.1 (19.8) |
| SOC # completed in minimum moves 5 | 7.8 (2.1) | 8.7 (2.3) | 8.8 (2.2)c | 8.0 (2.0) | 8.4 (2.2) | 9.0 (2.7) |
CRT: Choice Reaction Time; RVIP: Rapid Visual Information Processing (higher scores are better); DMS: Delayed Matching to Sample; PAL: Paired Associates Learning; SS: Spatial Span; SWM: Spatial Working Memory (higher scores are worse); SOC: Stockings of Cambridge. 1 significant time effect, no group or time × group interaction (p = 0.045, univariate and adjusted for age and education) ; 2univariate: significant time effect (p = 0.001); adjusted with no main effects or interactions (although Months 3 and 6 are significantly different than baseline for both groups); 3 univariate: significant time effect (p = 0.032); adjusted for significant time effect, no group or time × group interactions; 4 univariate: significant time effect (p < 0.033) for the avocado group, no group or time × group interaction; adjusted for no main effects or interactions; 5 univariate: significant time effect (p = 0.029) for the avocado group, no group or time × group interaction; adjusted for no main effects or interactions. a Significantly different than the control at baseline (p = 0.045). For each group, signicantly different than baseline (p value): b 0.028; c 0.002; d 0.018; e 0.001; f 0.020; g 0.042.