Higher fiber intake linked to fewer thinking problems after surgery
Thinking problems around surgery occurred in 13.4% of older patients with high fiber intake, compared with 25.9% of those with low intake.
442 elderly patients
Limit: Fiber intake relied on subjective recall, making exposure estimates susceptible to measurement error
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
A prospective observational study enrolled 442 elderly patients undergoing total knee or hip replacement at one center. Researchers assessed preoperative fiber intake with a food-frequency questionnaire and grouped patients by high or low intake. They identified thinking problems around surgery using scores from the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, a test of thinking skills.
They also measured blood levels of short-chain fatty acids, substances made when gut microbes break down fiber. Higher fiber intake remained associated with a lower risk of thinking problems after researchers accounted for other factors. Patients with higher fiber intake had higher blood levels of these substances, which were also linked to lower risk. A statistical analysis suggested that these substances may fully account for the association between fiber intake and thinking problems.
Why it matters
Thinking problems around surgery are a concern for older adults. The findings point to preoperative diet and substances made in the gut as possible targets for prevention research.
Caveats
The observational design cannot establish that fiber prevented thinking problems or that short-chain fatty acids accounted for the link. The single-center study covered elderly joint-replacement patients and is a preprint, not yet peer-reviewed.
From the paper
- Participants
Ultimately, 442 eligible patients were included in the study.
- Result
The results indicated that a high dietary fiber intake acted as a protective factor, which was associated with a reduced incidence of PND (OR = 0.445, 95% CI: 0.266 to 0.743, P = 0.002).
Results, Association between different dietary fiber intake and PND
Quoted word for word from the full text on researchsquare.com.
- Dietary fiber
- Short-chain fatty acid metabolism
- Montreal Cognitive Assessment
- Short-chain fatty acids
- Perioperative neurocognitive disorder
- Humans
The paper
Hebei children’s hospital; Hebei Medical University Third Affiliated Hospital
Research Square, Oct 19, 2026, Open access, Preprint, not peer-reviewed
