The Associations of Dietary Copper with Cognitive Outcomes: The ARIC Study

Jingkai Wei, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, United States.
Kan Z. Gianattasio, Department of Epidemiology, Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia, United States.
Erin E. Bennett, Department of Epidemiology, Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia, United States.
James D. Stewart, Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States.
Xiaohui Xu, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, United States.
Eun Sug Park, Texas A&M Transportation Institute, Texas A&M University System, College Station, Texas, United States.
Richard L. Smith, Department of Statistics and Operations Research, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States.
Qi Ying, Zachry Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, United States.
Eric A. Whitsel, Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States.
Melinda C. Power, Department of Epidemiology, Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia, United States.

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

3-3-2022

Journal

American journal of epidemiology

DOI

10.1093/aje/kwac040

Keywords

cognitive decline; copper; dementia; diet; multiple imputation; saturated fat

Abstract

Dietary copper intake may be associated with cognitive decline and dementia. We used data from 10,269 participants of the Atherosclerosis Risks in Communities Study to study the associations of dietary copper intake with 20-year cognitive decline and incident dementia. Dietary copper intake from food and supplements was quantified using food frequency questionnaires. Cognition was assessed using three cognitive tests at study visits; dementia was ascertained at study visits and via surveillance. Multiple imputation by chained equations was applied to account for the missing information of cognitive function during follow-up. Survival analysis with parametric models and mixed-effect models were used to estimate the associations for incident dementia and cognitive decline, respectively. During 20 years of follow-up (1996-1998 to 2016-2017), 1,862 incident cases of dementia occurred. Higher intake of dietary copper from food was associated with higher risk of incident dementia among those with high intake of saturated fat (hazards ratio: 1.49, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.04, 1.95). Higher intake of dietary copper from food was associated with greater decline in language overall (beta: -0.12, 95% CI: -0.23, -0.02). Therefore, a diet high in copper, particularly when combined with a diet high in saturated fat, may increase the risk of cognitive impairment.

Department

Epidemiology

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