Association Between Nutritional Components and Memory Function Among Korean Adults: Analysis of the 2023 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Data
Abstract
This study examined associations between nutritional intake and subjective memory function in a nationally representative sample of Korean adults using the 2023 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). A total of 5,591 eligible participants aged ≥ 19 years were included. Subjective memory function was assessed using the Health-Related Quality of Life Instrument with 8 Items (HINT-8) and then categorized into no, mild or severe difficulty. Nutritional intake was assessed using a 24-hour dietary recall interview.The participants with memory difficulties were more likely not only to be older, female, less educated and of lower socioeconomic status but also to exhibit comorbidities, such as hypertension and diabetes mellitus. Lower intakes of protein, fat, saturated fatty acids and cholesterol had a consistent association with a greater severity of memory complaints. Certain micronutrients, including riboflavin, niacin, retinol and magnesium, were decreased in the participants with memory difficulties, while vitamin E had an inverse correlation with subjective memory complaints in multivariate models. In conclusion, the current results suggest that suboptimal dietary intake may contribute to SMC in Korean adults, thus highlighting the importance of the potential role of balanced macronutrient and micronutrient consumption in maintaining cognitive health, particularly in populations at higher risk of memory decline.
Read the paper
Related studies
- Diarylethenes for Memories and Switches
- Long-Term Potentiation and Memory
- Social Memory Studies: From “Collective Memory” to the Historical Sociology of Mnemonic Practices
- The Cognitive Neuroscience of Working Memory
- Memory aging and brain maintenance
- Effector and Memory CTL Differentiation
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.