Association of 100% fruit juice consumption with cognitive measures, anxiety, and depression in US adults

Authors: AGARWAL, SANJIV - Nutriscience Llc; FULGONI, VICTOR - Nutrition Impact, Llc; JACQUES, PAUL - Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging At Tufts University

Submitted to: Nutrients
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/11/2022
Publication Date: 11/15/2022
Citation: Agarwal, S., Fulgoni, V.L., Jacques, P.F. 2022. Association of 100% fruit juice consumption with cognitive measures, anxiety, and depression in US adults. Nutrients. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14224827.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14224827

Interpretive Summary: Increased intake of fruit and vegetables has been consistently recommended by Dietary Guidelines worldwide, including the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025 (DGA), to reduce risk of chronic diseases including cognitive disorders. However, approximately most Americans do not meet fruit and vegetable intake recommendations. The current study explored the potential associations between consumption of 100% fruit juice and markers of cognitive health in adults using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a large, nationally representative, survey of nutritional status and health in the United States. We observed that consumers of 100% fruit juice had fewer days per month of feeling anxious compared to non-consumers. We did not consistently observe any other associations between cognitive function and intake of fruit juice. The results suggest that that consuming fruit juice as part of the fruit recommendation in a healthy diet may be associated with less frequent anxiety.

Technical Abstract: Cognitive decline, anxiety and depression are significant contributors to human ill health and decreased quality of life. Intake of fruits including 100% juice is associated with beneficial effects on several health outcomes. The current study explored the potential associations between consumption of 100% fruit juice and neurocognitive markers in adults. 24-hour dietary recall data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1988-1994, 1999-2018 for adults 20+ years (N = 62,606) were used to assess 100% fruit juice intake and NHANES questionnaire data were used for the assessment of neurocognition. Regression analyses were used to assess the association of 100% fruit juice usual intake with neurocognitive outcomes after adjustment for demographic, lifestyle, dietary and health related covariates. About 21% adults were fruit juice consumers and the intake was a little over 2 oz per day. Consumers of 100% fruit juice had 16.3% fewer days per month of feeling anxious compared to non-consumers. There were no significant associations of 100% fruit juice usual intake with other neurocognitive measures. A large number of potential confounding variables have been identified to be associated with one of more neurocognitive measures suggesting that these may be important parameters to include in future studies