MOCHA-Nutrients-Fisicaro et al-raw data

Background: recently, the interest in the role of coffee intake on the occurrence and course of age-related neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders has provided inconclusive effect. Moreover, no study has evaluated the mocha coffee consumption in subjects with mild vascular cognitive impairment and late-onset depression. Methods: we assessed the association between different quantities of mocha coffee intake over the last year and cognitive and mood performance in a homogeneous sample of 300 non-demented elderly Italian subjects with subcortical ischemic vas-cular disease. Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), Stroop Color-Word Interference test (Stroop T), 17-items Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS), Activities of Daily Living (ADL), and Instrumental ADL were the outcome measures. Results: MMSE, HDRS, and Stroop T were independently and significantly associated with coffee consumption, i.e., better scores with increasing intake. At the post-hoc analyses it was found that the group with a moderate intake (2 cups/day) had similar values compared to the heavily drinkers (≥3 cups/day), with the exception of MMSE. Conclusions: daily mocha coffee intake was associated with higher cognitive and mood status, with a significant dose-response association even with a moderate consumption. This might have translational implications for the identification of modifiable factors for vascular dementia and geriatric depression.