P3‐024: Dietary fat composition and late‐life cognitive decline in a large cohort of community‐dwelling older women
Year: 2010
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Dietary fat intake is a compelling focus for prevention of late-life cognitive decline; it is readily modifiable and may have significant impact on both general health and cognitive function. We examined prospectively the relations of major dietary fatty acids (FAs) (saturated [SFA], mono-unsaturated [MUFA], total poly-unsaturated [PUFA], trans-unsaturated); n-6 and n-3 (omega-3) FAs; and the n-6:n-3 FA ratio to late-life cognition. Among 6,183 Women's Health Study participants aged 65-95 years, we measured baseline fat intake using a validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire and assessed cognition 3 times over 5 years. Primary outcomes were a global score (averaging 5 tests of general cognition, verbal memory and semantic fluency) and episodic memory score (averaging 4 tests of word-list and paragraph recall). We conducted repeated measures analyses of response profiles to estimate mean differences in cognitive change by quintiles of fat consumption. After multivariable adjustment, higher SFA intake was associated with greater decline over 5 years on global score (p-trend = 0.03) and episodic memory (p-trend = 0.01). By contrast, higher MUFA intake was related to less decline in global cognition (p-trend = 0.01) and verbal memory (p-trend = 0.02); based on effect estimates of age in our cohort, being in the highest vs. lowest MUFA quintile was cognitively equivalent to being 3 years younger. There were no significant associations of total fat, PUFA or trans fat intake to cognition. Total omega-3 intake was associated with less verbal memory decline (p-trend = 0.03); being in the highest vs. lowest omega-3 quintile was cognitively comparable to being 3 years younger. There was a non-significant trend of worse episodic memory decline with the highest vs. lowest n-6 PUFA quintile (p = 0.09). Finally, a higher ratio of n-6:n-3 was associated with worse episodic memory decline (p-trend = 0.02). Higher saturated fat intake is associated with worse 5-year cognitive decline, while higher MUFA intake is related to less decline. Higher omega-3 intake is associated with better episodic memory over time, while higher n-6:n-3 ratio is associated with decline. These results strongly support the hypothesis that the balance of different fat types is relevant to cognitive aging.
Source: Alzheimer s & Dementia
Institutions: Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard University
Language: English
Subfield: Nutrition and Dietetics
Field: Nursing
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2042711999