title: The effect of recent consumption of caffeine-containing foodstuffs on neuropsychological tests in the elderly.
abstract: We investigated the effect of recent intake of caffeine-containing foodstuffs (CCFS) on a group of elderly participants (age range 67-95 years) on a series of neuropsychological tests. There was no significant effect of CCFS intake on performance in any of the tests in the battery used. However, a significant interaction effect was found between age and CCFS consumption on scores of some neuropsychological tests. In these tests, participants with recent consumption of CCFS show a linear decrease in performance with increasing age, a pattern not seen for those that have no CCFS in their system. Accuracy in the neuropsychological assessment is of great importance when determining whether someone has a cognitive impairment or early Alzheimer's disease. We therefore propose that recent consumption of CCFS should be taken into account when scoring the neuropsychological assessment.
authors.affiliation: Oxford Project to Investigate Memory and Ageing (OPTIMA), Division of Medical Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK. v.lesk@bradford.ac.uk
authors.forename: Valerie E
authors.initials: VE
authors.lastname: Lesk
authors.forename: Thurza E M
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Honey
authors.forename: Celeste A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: de Jager
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged / Q000523:psychology*; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology; D002110:Caffeine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003071:Cognition / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D005504:Food Analysis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000187:drug effects; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000187:drug effects; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants; D002110:Caffeine