title: Dairy intake is associated with memory and pulsatility index in heart failure.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Past work shows an inconsistent relationship between dairy intake and cognition in healthy older adults. A cross-sectional design was conducted to examine dairy consumption, cognitive dysfunction, and cerebral blood flow in a sample of older adults with heart failure (HF) to clarify their association in this population at high risk for adverse neurocognitive outcomes.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 86 older adults with HF (70.39 ± 9.51 years; 33.1% female) underwent neuropsychological testing, transcranial Doppler (TCD) sonography to quantify cerebral blood flow. Dairy intake was quantified using a brief self-report questionnaire.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Partial correlations between the dairy consumption questionnaire and neuropsychological tests were conducted adjusting for HF severity, age, and sex. Contrary to expectations, results showed greater dairy intake was associated with poorer memory (r = -0.21, p = 0.01) and higher pulsatility index in the medial cerebral artery (r = -0.17, p = 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results suggest that greater dairy intake was associated with poorer memory performance in older adults with HF. Several possible explanations for these findings exist, including the contribution of high-fat dairy to underlying physiological processes that promote vascular cognitive impairment. Prospective studies employing objective measures specific to high and low fat dairy are needed to clarify this possibility.
authors.affiliation: 1Kent State University , Kent, OH , USA.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.forename: Dayana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Calvo
authors.forename: Mary Beth
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Spitznagel
authors.forename: Lawrence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sweet
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Josephson
authors.forename: Joel
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hughes
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gunstad
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation / Q000502:physiology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003611:Dairy Products; D004435:Eating; D056344:Executive Function; D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009043:Motor Activity; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D017585:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Transcranial
keywords: cerebral blood flow; cognition; heart failure; nutrition