{ "abstract": "Background: Cognitive impairment poses significant challenges to aging populations globally. Mushrooms, the primary dietary source of ergothioneine (ET), have been associated with cognitive health, but the specific roles of ET and its metabolite S-methyl-ergothioneine (S-ET) remain unclear. Objectives: This study intends to extend previous work on mushroom intake and cognition by simultaneously examining mushroom consumption, plasma ET, and plasma S-ET, and by exploring the independent associations and potential mediation or moderation roles of ET and S-ET in relation to cognitive impairment. Methods: Cross-sectional data from 499 older adults (67 ± 8 years, 75.35% female) from the “Diet and Healthy Ageing Study” (DaHA) in Singapore were analyzed. Cognitive impairment (CI) was defined as Modified Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score < 27. Plasma ET and S-ET concentrations were measured using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Associations were examined using logistic regression, with exploratory mediation and moderation analyses. Results: Mushroom consumption >2 servings/week was associated with lower odds of CI (OR = 0.421, 95% CI: 0.180–0.986). Higher plasma ET levels were also independently associated with lower CI odds. Exploratory moderation analyses suggested that the inverse association between mushroom intake and CI was more evident among individuals with higher ET or S-ET levels (Mushroom × ET interaction: β = −0.008, p = 0.007; Mushroom × S-ET interaction: β = −0.079, p < 0.05). No evidence of exploratory mediation was observed for either ET or S-ET. Conclusions: Higher mushroom intake and plasma ET levels were associated with lower odds of cognitive impairment. Exploratory analyses suggested that the mushroom–cognition association may vary according to ET and S-ET status. The findings on mushroom and ET/S-ET interaction and the lack of a mediating role in our cohort are preliminary and hypothesis-generating and require validation in future longitudinal and intervention studies.", "abstract_shown": true, "affiliations": [ "School of Public Health, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan 250012, China", "Department of Biochemistry, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117596, Singapore", "Neurobiology Programme, Life Science Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117596, Singapore", "Healthy Longevity Translational Research Program, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117596, Singapore", "NUS Academy for Healthy Longevity, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117597, Singapore", "Department of Psychological Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 119229, Singapore", "School of Pharmacy, Changchun University of Chinese Medicine, Changchun 130117, China", "Shanghai EGT Synbio Group Co., Ltd., No 1299’ Ziyue Road, Minhang, Shanghai 200241, China", "Neuroscience and Behavioral Disorders Programme, Duke-NUS Medical School, National University of Singapore, Singapore 169857, Singapore", "Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China", "Department of Human Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam Movement Sciences, 1081BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands", "State Key Laboratory for Quality and Safety of Agro-Products, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China" ], "article_type": null, "arxiv": null, "author_total": 13, "authors": [ { "affs": [ 0 ], "name": "Mengxue Yang", "orcid": "0009-0008-9429-8608" }, { "affs": [ 1, 2 ], "name": "Irwin K. Cheah", "orcid": "0000-0001-9817-468X" }, { "affs": [ 0 ], "name": "Zhaoyu Li" }, { "affs": [ 3, 4, 5 ], "name": "Kaisy Xinhong Ye", "orcid": "0000-0002-6924-9213" }, { "affs": [ 3, 4, 5 ], "name": "Jiuyu Guo" }, { "affs": [ 5 ], "name": "Luwen Cao" }, { "affs": [ 3, 4, 5, 6 ], "name": "Na Li", "orcid": "0000-0002-9383-3049" }, { "affs": [ 7 ], "name": "Wei Zhang" }, { "affs": [ 8 ], "name": "Tih-Shih Lee" }, { "affs": [ 9 ], "name": "Long Lu" }, { "affs": [ 3, 4, 10 ], "name": "Andrea B. Maier" }, { "affs": [ 11 ], "name": "Chen Chen" }, { "affs": [ 3, 4, 5 ], "name": "Lei Feng", "orcid": "0000-0002-4414-9910" } ], "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/67c8wb7ddew1t.bib", "cited_by": 0, "doi": "10.3390/nu18223755", "fulltext_url": null, "id": "67c8wb7ddew1t", "issns": [ "2072-6643" ], "landing_url": "https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/18/22/3755", "language": null, "licence": "CC-BY-4.0", "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0", "licence_source": "article", "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "metadata_licence": null, "native_subjects": [], "openalex": null, "pdf_url": null, "pmcid": null, "pmid": null, "published": "2026-11-12", "publisher": "MDPI AG", "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/67c8wb7ddew1t.ris", "sources": [ { "first_seen": "2026-11-12T12:23:15Z", "native_id": "10.3390/nu18223755", "source": "crossref", "url": "https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/18/22/3755" } ], "subjects": [ { "field": "medicine", "origin": "issn:2072-6643", "subfield": "nutrition" } ], "title": "Plasma Ergothioneine Levels and Mushroom Consumption Are Associated with Lower Odds of Cognitive Impairment in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: Findings from the Diet and Healthy Ageing (DaHA) Study", "title_text": "Plasma Ergothioneine Levels and Mushroom Consumption Are Associated with Lower Odds of Cognitive Impairment in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: Findings from the Diet and Healthy Ageing (DaHA) Study", "type": "peer-reviewed", "updated_at": "2026-11-14T00:21:05Z", "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/67c8wb7ddew1t", "venue": "Nutrients", "versions": [] }