The Longitudinal Relationship Between Diet Quality and Executive Functioning Development of Hispanic Preschoolers in Houston, Texas

Background Diet quality has been found to be related to cognitive health in schoolaged children. However, this relationship remains understudied among Hispanic preschool-aged children, who are vulnerable to poor dietary habits and low cognitive development due to socioeconomic, cultural, and structural disparities. Objective This longitudinal study evaluated whether the diet quality of preschool-aged children would be associated with executive functions (EFs) in later childhood. Design This is a secondary analysis of a longitudinal study of Hispanic preschool-aged children (age 4 and 5 years) at baseline (Time 1) and 18 months (Time 2). Participants and setting This study included 185 mother-child dyads with complete data at Time 1, recruited through Head Start centers in Houston, TX, beginning in 2011. Main outcome measures Mothers reported on their child's dietary intake via 3 24hour recalls, which was used to calculate Healthy Eating Index (HEI)-2010 component and total scores. Laboratory tasks assessed cold EFs (tapping and Flexible Item Selection Tasks) and hot EFs (delay of gratification and gift-wrapping tasks). Whereas higher scores on tapping, Flexible Item Selection Task, and delay of gratification tasks represent a high EF, higher scores in gift-wrapping task represent a low EF. Statistical analyses performed Hierarchical linear regression analyses assessed the relationship between diet quality, as measured by HEI-2010 total and component scores, at Time 1 (independent variables) and EF outcomes (dependent variables) at Time 2, controlling for child sex, age, body mass index z score, and EF at Time 1. Results HEI-2010 component score for fatty acids (b = e.13; P = .04) and seafood and plant proteins (b = .09; P = .05), were respectively related to later cold and hot EFs of Hispanic preschool-aged children. Other HEI components or the overall score did not predict EFs. Conclusions This study shows that specific HEI components support cold and hot EFs development among Hispanic preschool-aged children, but total HEI-2010 score does not. Experimental research is needed to assess the influence of dietary interventions on cognitive development of Hispanic preschool-aged children.