Minor degree of hypohydration adversely influences cognition: a mediator analysis
Benton D, Jenkins KT, Watkins HT, Young HA, Young HA
The American journal of clinical nutrition · 33 citations
Review labels
Neutral facts our review recorded about how this study was done. They describe method, never whether we like the result.
How it was studied
- Design
- Randomized controlled trial (indexed by PubMed)
- Studied in
- People
- Main outcome
- Health markers and function
Who paid for it
- Funding
- Funding not disclosed
Publication
- Published
- 2016-08-10 · Am J Clin Nutr · vol. 104 · issue 3 · pp. 603–612
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Cited
- 58 citations · more than 94% of similar papers · 3.9× the field average
- Impact
- Top 10% most cited in its field
- References
- 33 works
- Access
- Open access (hybrid journal) · CC-BY
- Research areas
- Thermoregulation and physiological responses · Electrolyte and hormonal disorders · Body Composition Measurement Techniques
- Keywords
- Thirst, Mood, Cognition, Weight loss, Psychology, Urine osmolality, Anxiety, Body mass index, Developmental psychology, Clinical psychology, Urine, Medicine, Obesity, Physiology, Internal medicine, Psychiatry
- MeSH
- humans, dehydration, weight loss, severity of illness index, affect, thirst, cognition, task performance and analysis, attention, body temperature regulation, drinking, osmolar concentration, students, universities, adolescent, adult, female, male, statistics as topic, hot temperature, young adult, memory, episodic, cognitive dysfunction
4 authors
From GB
- David Benton · correspondingSwansea University
- Kimberly T JenkinsSwansea University
- Heather WatkinsSwansea University
- Hayley Anne YoungSwansea University
Abstract
Background
Because the assumption that small changes in hydration status are readily compensated by homeostatic mechanisms has been little studied, the influence of hypohydration on cognition was examined.
Objectives
We assessed whether a loss of <1% of body mass due to hypohydration adversely influenced cognition, and examined the possible underlying mechanisms.
Design
A total of 101 individuals were subjected to a temperature of 30°C for 4 h and randomly either did or did not consume 300 mL H2O during that period. Changes in body mass, urine osmolality, body temperature, and thirst were monitored. Episodic memory, focused attention, mood, and the perceived difficulty of tasks were measured on 3 occasions. The data were analyzed with the use of a regression-based approach whereby we looked for variables that mediated the influence of hypohydration on psychological functioning.
Results
Drinking water improved memory and focused attention. In the short-term, thirst was associated with poorer memory. Later, a greater loss of body mass was associated with poorer memory and attention (mean loss: 0.72%). At 90 min, an increase in thirst was associated with a decline in subjective energy and increased anxiety and depression, effects that were reduced by drinking water. At 180 min, subjects found the tests easier if they had consumed water.
Conclusions
Drinking water was shown, for the first time to our knowledge, to benefit cognitive functioning when there was a loss of <1% body mass at levels that may occur during everyday living. Establishing the variables that generate optimal fluid consumption will help to tailor individual advice, particularly in clinical situations. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02671149.
Abstract via Europe PMC. Copyright remains with the authors or publisher (CC BY).
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