Journal
NEUROLOGY
Volume 78, Issue 9, Pages 658-664Publisher
LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS
DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0b013e318249f6a9
Keywords
-
Categories
Funding
- Framingham Heart Study's National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute [N01-HC-25195]
- NHLBI [R01 HL089590]
- National Institute on Aging [R01 AG16495, AG 033040, AG08122, AG033193, AG031287]
- NIH/NIA
- Monsanto
- Aker Biomarine
- Acasti Pharma
- Neptune
- Omthera
- GlaxoSmithKline
- NIH/NHLBI
- NIH (NINDS, NIA, NHLBI)
- NIH (NIA, NINDS)
- NIH (NIA, NHLBI)
- NIH (NHLBI, NINDS, NIA)
- NIH (NIA, NINDS, NHLBI)
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Objective: Higher dietary intake and circulating levels of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) have been related to a reduced risk for dementia, but the pathways underlying this association remain unclear. We examined the cross-sectional relation of red blood cell (RBC) fatty acid levels to subclinical imaging and cognitive markers of dementia risk in a middle-aged to elderly community-based cohort. Methods: We related RBC DHA and EPA levels in dementia-free Framingham Study participants (n = 1,575; 854 women, age 67 +/- 9 years) to performance on cognitive tests and to volumetric brain MRI, with serial adjustments for age, sex, and education (model A, primary model), additionally for APOE is an element of 4 and plasma homocysteine (model B), and also for physical activity and body mass index (model C), or for traditional vascular risk factors (model D). Results: Participants with RBC DHA levels in the lowest quartile (Q1) when compared to others (Q2-4) had lower total brain and greater white matter hyperintensity volumes (for model A: beta +/- SE = -0.49 +/- 0.19; p = 0.009, and 0.12 +/- 0.06; p = 0.049, respectively) with persistence of the association with total brain volume in multivariable analyses. Participants with lower DHA and omega-3 index (RBC DHA + EPA) levels (Q1 vs Q2-4) also had lower scores on tests of visual memory (beta +/- SE = -0.47 +/- 0.18; p = 0.008), executive function (beta +/- SE = -0.07 +/- 0.03; p = 0.004), and abstract thinking (beta +/- SE = -0.52 +/- 0.18; p = 0.004) in model A, the results remaining significant in all models. Conclusion: Lower RBC DHA levels are associated with smaller brain volumes and a vascular pattern of cognitive impairment even in persons free of clinical dementia. Neurology (R) 2012;78:658-664
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available