The association of dietary protein intake in three meals and cognitive performance among people over sixty years old

Background Cognitive dysfunction caused by aging is becoming increasingly significant, and despite increasing global attention to the prevention and treatment of cognitive impairment, effective treatment methods remain elusive, so changing lifestyle and dietary interventions are particularly important. Objective The aim of this study was to explore the effects of dietary protein intake on cognitive ability in the people aged over 60 years, and to provide new insights for the prevention and improvement of cognitive dysfunction in the elderly. Methods We conducted a cross-cutting study of 2649 older adults in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey database between 2011 and 2014, employing weighted logistic regression analysis to investigate the relationship between protein intake at three meals and cognitive capacity. Results In the fully adjusted model, compared to those in the lowest quantile, participants in the highest quintile of dinner protein intake had a lower risk of low cognitive performance (OR = 0.66, 95% CI 0.44–0.98 for Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease; OR = 0.64, 95% CI 0.39–0.95 for Digit Symbol Substitution Test; OR = 0.56, 95% CI 0.36–0.88 for Composite z-score). Conclusions Our study suggests that cognitive performance may be related to dinner protein intake but not breakfast protein intake.