(OR32-06-24) Effect of Peanut Consumption on Cognitive Performance in Older Adults With Elevated Blood Pressure or Stage 1 Hypertension

Objectives: Hypertensive individuals have a higher risk of cognitive impairment. Research trends toward investigating the role of nutrition in causing and preventing age-related cognitive decline. Peanuts are a rich source of polyphenols, monounsaturated fats, protein, and contain high amounts of niacin, folate, arginine, vitamin E, and thiamin. The present study examined the effects of peanut supplementation on cognitive function and emotional symptoms such as anxiety and depression.

Methods: In this randomized-controlled trial, 50 men and women between the ages of 60-80 years were randomly assigned to consume 2 oz of peanuts daily (peanut group) or no peanuts/tree nuts (control group) for 12 weeks. A repeated measures mixed ANOVA model was utilized to examine the impact of group, time, and the interaction of group and time in men and women. Paired t-tests were performed to compare changes from baseline within the group.

Results: The results indicate a significant main effect of time (p < 0.001) and group (p < 0.01) on memory strategy score. Both groups showed a significant increase in memory strategy scores over time (p < 0.001). However, the participants in the peanut group demonstrated a greater improvement, with a 24% increase, compared to a 19% improvement observed in the control group. Similarly, the analysis revealed a similar pattern in the visual sustained attention task, as measured by RVP A’ scores. There was a significant effect of time (p < 0.001) and a borderline significant effect of group (p = 0.09). Although both groups demonstrated a significant increase in RVP A’ scores compared to baseline (p < 0.01), participants in the peanut group outperformed those in the control group. Emotional status was not affected by the 12-week intervention.

Conclusions: Our findings underscore the beneficial impact of daily peanut consumption on improving memory strategy scores and visual sustained attention among individuals consuming peanuts.

Funding Sources: This research was funded by the Peanut Institute Foundation. Funders had no role in the study design, data collection, data analysis or interpretation, or writing of the abstract.