HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Related articles in AJCN Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Dullemeijer, C. Articles by Verhoef, P. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Dullemeijer, C. Articles by Verhoef, P. Agricola Articles by Dullemeijer, C. Articles by Verhoef, P.

n–3 Fatty acid proportions in plasma and cognitive performance in older adults^1,2,3

¹ From the Wageningen Centre for Food Sciences, Wageningen, Netherlands (CD, JD, IAB, R-JMB, and PV); Division of Human Nutrition, Wageningen University, Netherlands (CD, JD, IAB, OvdR, FJK, and PV), and the Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, Brain and Behavior Institute, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands (MPJvB)

Background: Very-long-chain n–3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n–3 PUFAs) are suggested to be related to cognitive performance in older adults. However, limited data exist on the association between n–3 PUFAs and performance in specific cognitive domains.

Objective: We evaluated the association between plasma n–3 PUFA proportions and cognitive performance in 5 cognitive domains and determined whether plasma n–3 PUFA proportions predict cognitive change over 3 y.

Design: We used data from the FACIT trial, in which participants received folic acid or placebo capsules for 3 y. Fatty acid proportions in plasma cholesteryl esters at baseline were measured in 807 men and women aged 50–70 y. Cognitive performance for memory, sensorimotor speed, complex speed, information-processing speed, and word fluency was assessed at baseline and after 3 y. The cross-sectional analyses were based on all 807 participants; the longitudinal analyses were based only on 404 participants in the placebo group.

Results: Higher plasma n–3 PUFA proportions predicted less decline in sensorimotor speed (multiple linear regression coefficient, z score = 0.31; 95% CI: 0.06, 0.57) and complex speed (0.40; 95% CI: 0.10, 0.70) over 3 y. Plasma n–3 PUFA proportions did not predict 3-y changes in memory, information-processing speed, or word fluency. The cross-sectional analyses showed no association between plasma n–3 PUFA proportions and performance in any of the 5 cognitive domains.

Conclusions: In this population, plasma n–3 PUFA proportions were associated with less decline in the speed-related cognitive domains over 3 y. These results need to be confirmed in randomized controlled trials.

Key Words: Cognitive performance • n–3 polyunsaturated fatty acids • n–3 fatty acids • cognitive decline • older adults

Related articles in AJCN:

Rethinking brain food

Irwin H Rosenberg
AJCN 2007 86: 1259-1260. [Full Text]  

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. Whelan (n-6) and (n-3) Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids and the Aging Brain: Food for Thought J. Nutr., December 1, 2008; 138(12): 2521 - 2522. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				N. Coley, S. Andrieu, V. Gardette, S. Gillette-Guyonnet, C. Sanz, B. Vellas, and A. Grand Dementia Prevention: Methodological Explanations for Inconsistent Results Epidemiol. Rev., November 1, 2008; 30(1): 35 - 66. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. Samieri, C. Feart, L. Letenneur, J.-F. Dartigues, K. Peres, S. Auriacombe, E. Peuchant, C. Delcourt, and P. Barberger-Gateau Low plasma eicosapentaenoic acid and depressive symptomatology are independent predictors of dementia risk Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, September 1, 2008; 88(3): 714 - 721. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				I. H Rosenberg Rethinking brain food Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, November 1, 2007; 86(5): 1259 - 1260. [Full Text] [PDF]