Objective The influence of cocoa flavanols(CFs)on cognitive functions in human has been investigated in some clinical trials,but the results are inconclusive.We conduct this systematic review and meta-analysis of rand...Objective The influence of cocoa flavanols(CFs)on cognitive functions in human has been investigated in some clinical trials,but the results are inconclusive.We conduct this systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials(RCTs)to figure out whether CFs intervention have a positive effect on cognitive functions.Methods A comprehensive literature search of articles published until June 2019 was performed in PubMed,Cochrane Library,Medline,and Web of Science.Weighted mean difference(WMD)and 95%confidence interval(95%CI)were calculated to reflect the size of the combined effect.Random effect models were used for all analyses.Results A total of 9 RCT studies were finally enrolled in this meta-analysis.CFs has no notable effect on Trail Making Test-A(TMT-A)(WMD:-5.75s,95%CI:-16.71-5.21),which reflects the shifting subdomain of executive function and global executive function.CFs has no significant effect on Trail Making Test-B(TMT-B)(WMD:-11.32s,95%CI:-26.14-3.50),which reflects another specific aspect of the shifting subdomain.Gross cognitive changed as measured by mini mental state examination(MMSE)which consists of a series of items covering cognitive functions except for the executive function domain,but significantly associated with composite z score of several subdomains tests of executive function(WSD:0.40s,95%CI:0.29-0.46).Conclusion This study suggests CFs may have a positive effect on cognitive function,especially executive function.However,large scale and high quality RCTs are needed to further confirm/refute this conclusion.展开更多
文摘Objective The influence of cocoa flavanols(CFs)on cognitive functions in human has been investigated in some clinical trials,but the results are inconclusive.We conduct this systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials(RCTs)to figure out whether CFs intervention have a positive effect on cognitive functions.Methods A comprehensive literature search of articles published until June 2019 was performed in PubMed,Cochrane Library,Medline,and Web of Science.Weighted mean difference(WMD)and 95%confidence interval(95%CI)were calculated to reflect the size of the combined effect.Random effect models were used for all analyses.Results A total of 9 RCT studies were finally enrolled in this meta-analysis.CFs has no notable effect on Trail Making Test-A(TMT-A)(WMD:-5.75s,95%CI:-16.71-5.21),which reflects the shifting subdomain of executive function and global executive function.CFs has no significant effect on Trail Making Test-B(TMT-B)(WMD:-11.32s,95%CI:-26.14-3.50),which reflects another specific aspect of the shifting subdomain.Gross cognitive changed as measured by mini mental state examination(MMSE)which consists of a series of items covering cognitive functions except for the executive function domain,but significantly associated with composite z score of several subdomains tests of executive function(WSD:0.40s,95%CI:0.29-0.46).Conclusion This study suggests CFs may have a positive effect on cognitive function,especially executive function.However,large scale and high quality RCTs are needed to further confirm/refute this conclusion.
