Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of the participants according to the presence or absence of 4-year period of cognitive decline
| Characteristics | Cognitive decline | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | presence | absence | ||||||||
| Mean | SD | Mean | SD | Mean | SD | p-Value | ||||
| No. of participants (n) | 517 | 141 | 376 | |||||||
| Sex (n) men | 256 | (49.5%) | 79 | (56.0%) | 177 | (47.1%) | 0.07 | |||
| Age (years) | 68.6 | 6.2 | 70.0 | 6.8 | 68.0 | 5.8 | <0.01 | |||
| MMSE | 28.9 | 0.8 | 28.6 | 0.7 | 29.1 | 0.8 | <0.01 | |||
| BMI (kg/m2) | 22.9 | 2.8 | 23.2 | 2.9 | 22.7 | 2.8 | 0.08 | |||
| Educational level (n) | 0.09 | |||||||||
| 9 years | 121 | (23.4%) | 55 | (39.0%) | 66 | (17.6%) | ||||
| 10–12 years | 228 | (44.1%) | 48 | (34.0%) | 180 | (47.9%) | ||||
| ≥13 years | 168 | (32.5%) | 38 | (27.0%) | 130 | (34.6%) | ||||
| Married (n) | 433 | (83.8%) | 115 | (81.6%) | 318 | (84.6%) | 0.41 | |||
| Current smoker (n) | 41 | (7.9%) | 9 | (6.4%) | 32 | (8.5%) | 0.43 | |||
| Alcohol consumptiona (mL/day) | 8.3 | 14.4 | 9.9 | 16.8 | 7.6 | 13.3 | 0.15 | |||
| Energy intake (kcal/day) | 2009 | 373 | 2010 | 391 | 2009 | 367 | 0.97 | |||
| Total physical activity (METs*min/1000/day) | 1.9 | 0.2 | 1.9 | 0.2 | 1.9 | 0.2 | 0.85 | |||
| Employment (n) | 0.03 | |||||||||
| Unemployed or household labor | 261 | (50.5%) | 81 | (57.5%) | 180 | (47.9%) | ||||
| Nonregular employment | 87 | (16.8%) | 24 | (17.0%) | 63 | (16.8%) | ||||
| Regular employment | 169 | (32.7%) | 36 | (25.5%) | 133 | (35.4%) | ||||
| CES-D | 6.6 | 6.6 | 6.8 | 6.8 | 6.6 | 6.6 | 0.76 | |||
| Medical history (n)b | ||||||||||
| Stroke | 26 | (5.0%) | 8 | (5.7%) | 18 | (4.8%) | 0.68 | |||
| ypertension | 210 | (40.6%) | 61 | (43.3%) | 149 | (39.6%) | 0.45 | |||
| Ischemic heart disease | 31 | (6.0%) | 10 | (7.1%) | 21 | (5.6%) | 0.52 | |||
| Hyperlipidemia | 137 | (26.5%) | 36 | (25.5%) | 101 | (26.9%) | 0.76 | |||
| Diabetes mellitus | 53 | (10.3%) | 15 | (10.6%) | 38 | (10.1%) | 0.86 | |||
| CLA High frequency (n)c | ||||||||||
| Reading the newspaper | 510 | (98.6%) | 138 | (97.9%) | 372 | (98.9%) | 0.40 | |||
| Reading books | 433 | (83.8%) | 121 | (85.8%) | 312 | (83.0%) | 0.44 | |||
| Writing | 263 | (50.9%) | 70 | (49.6%) | 193 | (51.3%) | 0.73 | |||
| Creative activities | 198 | (38.3%) | 57 | (40.4%) | 141 | (37.5%) | 0.54 | |||
| Art appreciation | 163 | (31.5%) | 33 | (23.4%) | 130 | (34.6%) | 0.02 | |||
| Gardening | 385 | (74.5%) | 108 | (76.6%) | 277 | (73.8%) | 0.50 | |||
| SFA (g/day) | 14.8 | 4.8 | 14.4 | 4.4 | 15.0 | 4.9 | 0.04 | |||
| MUFA (g/day) | 18.2 | 5.7 | 17.2 | 5.5 | 18.6 | 5.7 | 0.02 | |||
| LCPUFA (g/day) | 1.4 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 0.93 | |||
Note: Continuous variables, Student’s t-test; categorical variables, χ2 test
aAlcohol consumption was converted into ethanol content.
bPast and present illness
cCLA was divided into two groups based on the frequency of participation; “at least once or more per month” (high) “once or several times per year or less” (low)
ARA, arachidonic acid; BMI, body mass index; CES-D, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale; DHA, docosahexaenoic acid; EPA, eicosapentaenoic acid; MMSE, Mini-Mental State Examination. MUFA, monounsaturated fatty acid; SFA, saturated fatty acid