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Cognitive performance among the elderly and dietary fish intake: the Hordaland Health Study^1,2,3

¹ From the Department of Pharmacology (EN) and the Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics and the Oxford Project to Investigate Memory and Ageing (HR and ADS), University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom; the Institute of Basic Medical Science, Department of Nutrition, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway (EN, CAD, HR and KS); the Department of Public Health and Primary Health Care (SEV, HAN, and GST) and the Institute of Medicine (ON), University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway; and the Department of Geriatric Medicine, Norwegian Centre for Dementia Research, Ullevål University Hospital, Oslo, Norway (KE)

Background: Increasing evidence suggests that cognitive impairment and dementia in older subjects might be influenced by a diet including seafood.

Objective: The objective was to examine the cross-sectional relation between intake of different amounts of various seafood (fish and fish products) and cognitive performance.

Design: The subjects (n = 2031 subjects; 55% women), aged 70–74 y, were recruited from the general population in Western Norway and underwent cognitive testing. A cognitive test battery included the Kendrick Object Learning Test, Trail Making Test (part A), modified versions of the Digit Symbol Test, Block Design, Mini-Mental State Examination, and Controlled Oral Word Association Test. Poor cognitive performance was defined as a score in the highest decile for the Trail Making Test and in the lowest decile for all other tests.

Results: Subjects whose mean daily intake of fish and fish products was 10 g/d (n = 1951) had significantly better mean test scores and a lower prevalence of poor cognitive performance than did those whose intake was <10 g/d (n = 80). The associations between total intake of seafood and cognition were strongly dose-dependent; the maximum effect was observed at an intake of 75 g/d. Most cognitive functions were influenced by fish intake. The effect was more pronounced for nonprocessed lean fish and fatty fish.

Conclusions: In the elderly, a diet high in fish and fish products is associated with better cognitive performance in a dose-dependent manner.

Key Words: Cognitive deficit • cognition • elderly • fish • fish oils • processed fish • seafood

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