Objectives: To investigate the association of nutritional status and cognitive status and to identify a possible causal role of nutritional status in the future risk of cognitive decline in older Taiwanese. Methods: The study analyzed the 1999 and 2003 datasets of the ”Survey of Health and Living Status of the Elderly in Taiwan”. Subjects were interviewed, face-to-face, with a structured questionnaire. The Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) was used to rate nutritional status and the Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire (SPMSQ)、was used to rate cognitive status. This cross-sectional study included 2,672 elderly at baseline while the longitudinal analysis included the 1895 subject who survived in 2003, less those who had severe cognitive impairment at baseline and those who failed to complete the 2003 interview. Both models controlled for socio-demographic factors, lifestyle, food intake, and health and medical conditions. Results: In regression models that controlled for possible confounders, cross-sectional analysis showed a significant association between nutritional status and cognitive status (OR=2.07, 95% CI=1.57-2.75, p＜0.001); whereas the longitudinal analysis showed that poor nutrition was associated with a 43% increase (1.43, 1.01-2.04, p=0.049) in cognitive decline four years later. Conclusions: Results suggest that nutritional status can affect subsequent cognitive function. It is therefore important for the elderly to pay greater attention to their nutritional status in order to reduce the risk of the age-related cognitive decline. The MNA can predict functional decline as well as rate the nutritional status of the elderly.

認知風險；營養狀況；老年人

cognitive decline; nutritional status; elderly