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Tea Consumption and Cognitive Performance in the Very Old

Completed
Conditions
Cognition
Interventions
Other: Cognitive performance and cognitive decline
Registration Number
NCT03278743
Lead Sponsor
Newcastle University
Brief Summary

Studies have found a beneficial effect of tea consumption on the reduction of risk of cognitive impairment and dementia in older aged populations. However, there is a paucity of data on these associations in the very old defined as individuals aged 85 years and over. Therefore, we hypothesized that higher tea consumption was associated with better global and domain-specific cognitive function. We investigated the relationship between tea consumption in the very old and measures of global cognitive function, memory, attention and psychomotor speed.

The Newcastle 85+ Study was a longitudinal (5-years), population-based cohort study of individuals aged 85+ years in North East England, United Kingdom. The final sample included 676 community-dwelling and institutionalized men and women recruited through general medical practices.

Baseline tea consumption was assessed through a 2x24-hr multiple pass recall and longitudinal measures of global and domain specific (memory, speed and attention) cognitive function through the standardized mini-mental state examination and the cognitive drug research system. Linear mixed models, controlling for demographic (e.g. age, sex and education) and health variables were used to determine whether tea consumption was protective against cognitive decline.

Detailed Description

Not available

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
1042
Inclusion Criteria
  • Born in 1921
  • Permanently registered with a participating general practice in Newcastle upon Tyne or North Tyneside primary care trusts in the UK
Exclusion Criteria
  • End-stage illness
  • Individuals who might pose a safety risk to a nurse visiting alone, with dementia
  • Clinical diagnosis of dementia at baseline

Study & Design

Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Study Design
Not specified
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
High tea consumptionCognitive performance and cognitive declineconsumption of 4.6 to 11.9 cups of tea (200 ml) per day (n=213)
low to moderate tea consumptionCognitive performance and cognitive declineconsumption of 0.4 to 4.6 cups of tea (200 ml) per day (n=463)
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Standardized mini-mental state examinationBaseline

Measure of global cognition (Score 0-30)

Rate of decline of the standardized mini-mental state examinationBaseline to 5 years follow-up

Measure of global cognition (Score 0-30)

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Simple reaction timeBaseline

Simple reaction time assessed using the Cognitive Drug Research (CDR) computerised system. The CDR tasks were presented on a hi-resolution Windows-based laptop computer (Motion Computing LE1600 Tablet PC with keyboard accessory) and participants responded using a two-button (NO/YES) response box. The participant is instructed to press "YES" as quickly as possible every time the word "YES" is presented on the screen. In total, 30 "YES" stimuli are presented with varying inter-stimulus interval. (ms)

Rate of reaction speed declineBaseline to 3 years follow-up

Simple reaction time assessed using the Cognitive Drug Research (CDR) computerised system. The CDR tasks were presented on a hi-resolution Windows-based laptop computer (Motion Computing LE1600 Tablet PC with keyboard accessory) and participants responded using a two-button (NO/YES) response box.The participant is instructed to press "YES" as quickly as possible every time the word "YES" is presented on the screen. In total, 30 "YES" stimuli are presented with varying inter-stimulus interval. (ms)

Choice reaction timeBaseline

Choice reaction time assessed using the Cognitive Drug Research (CDR) computerised system. The CDR tasks were presented on a hi-resolution Windows-based laptop computer (Motion Computing LE1600 Tablet PC with keyboard accessory) and participants responded using a two-button (NO/YES) response box. Either the word "YES" or "NO" is presented on the screen and the participant is instructed to press the corresponding button as quickly as possible. There are 30 trials for each stimulus word, which is chosen randomly with equal probability, with varying inter-stimulus interval. (ms)

Rate of reaction choice declineBaseline to 3 years follow-up

Choice reaction time assessed using the Cognitive Drug Research (CDR) computerised system. The CDR tasks were presented on a hi-resolution Windows-based laptop computer (Motion Computing LE1600 Tablet PC with keyboard accessory) and participants responded using a two-button (NO/YES) response box.Either the word "YES" or "NO" is presented on the screen and the participant is instructed to press the corresponding button as quickly as possible. There are 30 trials for each stimulus word, which is chosen randomly with equal probability, with varying inter-stimulus interval. (ms)

Digit vigilance taskBaseline

Digit vigilance task assessed using the Cognitive Drug Research (CDR) computerised system. The CDR tasks were presented on a hi-resolution Windows-based laptop computer (Motion Computing LE1600 Tablet PC with keyboard accessory) and participants responded using a two-button (NO/YES) response box. Target digit is randomly selected and constantly displayed to the right of the screen. A series of digits (0-9) are presented in the centre of the screen at the rate of 150 per minute. The participant is required to press the "YES" button as quickly as possible every time the digit in the series matches the target digit. There are 300 digits in the series and the task lasts for 2 minutes. (ms)

Rate of digit vigilance task declineBaseline to 3 years follow-up

Digit vigilance task assessed using the Cognitive Drug Research (CDR) computerised system. The CDR tasks were presented on a hi-resolution Windows-based laptop computer (Motion Computing LE1600 Tablet PC with keyboard accessory) and participants responded using a two-button (NO/YES) response box. Target digit is randomly selected and constantly displayed to the right of the screen. A series of digits (0-9) are presented in the centre of the screen at the rate of 150 per minute. The participant is required to press the "YES" button as quickly as possible every time the digit in the series matches the target digit. There are 300 digits in the series and the task lasts for 2 minutes. (ms)

Word recognitionBaseline

Word recognition was assessed using the Cognitive Drug Research (CDR) computerised system. The CDR tasks were presented on a hi-resolution Windows-based laptop computer (Motion Computing LE1600 Tablet PC with keyboard accessory) and participants responded using a two-button (NO/YES) response box. A list of words is presented on screen for the subject to remember. Immediately after the presentation the subject is asked to recall as many words as possible. 20 minutes later, the same list of words is presented with added distracter words. For each word, the subject is asked to indicate whether or not it belongs o the original list by pressing 'YES' or 'NO'.

Rate of word recognition declineBaseline to 3 years follow-up

Word recognition was assessed using the Cognitive Drug Research (CDR) computerised system. The CDR tasks were presented on a hi-resolution Windows-based laptop computer (Motion Computing LE1600 Tablet PC with keyboard accessory) and participants responded using a two-button (NO/YES) response box.A list of words is presented on screen for the subject to remember. Immediately after the presentation the subject is asked to recall as many words as possible. 20 minutes later, the same list of words is presented with added distracter words. For each word, the subject is asked to indicate whether or not it belongs to the original list by pressing 'YES' or 'NO'.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Newcastle University

🇬🇧

Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom

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