Supplementary Material for: Dietary Sodium/Potassium Intake Does Not Affect Cognitive Function or Brain Imaging Indices Nowak K.L. Fried L. Jovanovich A. Ix J. Yaffe K. You Z. Chonchol M. 10.6084/m9.figshare.5799093.v1 https://karger.figshare.com/articles/dataset/Supplementary_Material_for_Dietary_Sodium_Potassium_Intake_Does_Not_Affect_Cognitive_Function_or_Brain_Imaging_Indices/5799093 <b><i>Background:</i></b> Dietary sodium may influence cognitive function through its effects on cerebrovascular function and cerebral blood flow. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of dietary sodium intake with cognitive decline in community-dwelling older adults. We also evaluated the associations of dietary potassium and sodium:potassium intake with cognitive decline, and associations of these nutrients with micro- and macro-structural brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) indices. In all, 1,194 participants in the Health Aging and Body Composition study with measurements of dietary sodium intake (food frequency questionnaire [FFQ]) and change in the modified Mini Mental State Exam (3MS) were included. <b><i>Results:</i></b> The age of participants was 74 ± 3 years with a mean dietary sodium intake of 2,677 ± 1,060 mg/day. During follow-up (6.9 ± 0.1 years), 340 (28%) had a clinically significant decline in 3MS score (≥1.5 SD of mean decline). After adjustment, dietary sodium intake was not associated with odds of cognitive decline (OR 0.96, 95% CI 0.50–1.84 per doubling of sodium). Similarly, potassium was not associated with cognitive decline; however, higher sodium:potassium intake was associated with increased odds of cognitive decline (OR 2.02 [95% CI 1.01–4.03] per unit increase). Neither sodium or potassium alone nor sodium:potassium were associated with micro- or macro-structural brain MRI indices. These results are limited by the use of FFQ. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> In community-dwelling older adults, higher sodium:potassium, but not sodium or potassium intake alone, was associated with decline in cognitive function, with no associations observed with micro- and macro-structural brain MRI indices. These findings do not support reduction dietary sodium/increased potassium intake to prevent cognitive decline with aging. 2018-01-24 09:37:19 Ageing Cognitive dysfunction Epidemiology Nutrition Potassium Risk factors Sodium