title: Refined carbohydrate intake in relation to non-verbal intelligence among Tehrani schoolchildren.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Nutrition has long been considered one of the most important environmental factors affecting human intelligence. Although carbohydrates are the most widely studied nutrient for their possible effects on cognition, limited data are available linking usual refined carbohydrate intake and intelligence. The present study was conducted to examine the relationship between long-term refined carbohydrate intake and non-verbal intelligence among schoolchildren.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Tehran, Iran.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this cross-sectional study, 245 students aged 6-7 years were selected from 129 elementary schools in two western regions of Tehran. Anthropometric measurements were carried out. Non-verbal intelligence and refined carbohydrate consumption were determined using Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices test and a modified sixty-seven-item FFQ, respectively. Data about potential confounding variables were collected. Linear regression analysis was applied to examine the relationship between non-verbal intelligence scores and refined carbohydrate consumption.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Individuals in top tertile of refined carbohydrate intake had lower mean non-verbal intelligence scores in the crude model (P < 0.038). This association remained significant after controlling for age, gender, birth date, birth order and breast-feeding pattern (P = 0.045). However, further adjustments for mother's age, mother's education, father's education, parental occupation and BMI made the association statistically non-significant. We found a significant inverse association between refined carbohydrate consumption and non-verbal intelligence scores in regression models (β = -11.359, P < 0.001). This relationship remained significant in multivariate analysis after controlling for potential confounders (β = -8.495, P = 0.038).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study provides evidence indicating an inverse relationship between refined carbohydrate consumption and non-verbal intelligence among Tehrani children aged 6-7 years. Prospective studies are needed to confirm our findings.
authors.affiliation: Food Security Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Islamic Republic of Iran.
authors.forename: Amin Salehi
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Abargouei
authors.forename: Naser
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kalantari
authors.forename: Nasrin
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Omidvar
authors.forename: Bahram
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rashidkhani
authors.forename: Anahita Houshiar
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Rad
authors.forename: Azizeh Afkham
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Ebrahimi
authors.forename: Hossein
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Khosravi-Boroujeni
authors.forename: Ahmad
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Esmaillzadeh
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002664:Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena / Q000502:physiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004032:Diet / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000145:classification; D005260:Female; D005511:Food Handling / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence / Q000502:physiology*; D007361:Intelligence Tests; D007492:Iran; D008297:Male; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
chemical_list: D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates