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ORIGINAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATION |
1 From the Centre d'Excellence sur le Vieillissement de Quebec, Unite de Recherche sur le Vieillissement, Centre de Recherche FRSQ du Centre Hospitalier Affilie Universitaire de Québec, Québec, Canada (EK, RV, P-HC, and DL); the Faculté de Médicine (EK, RV, PJ, ED, and PA) and the Faculté de Pharmacie (DL), Université Laval, Québec, Canada; the Lipid Research Centre, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Québec, Québec, Canada (PJ); the Department of Epidemiology and Community Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada (JL); and the Public Health Research Unit, Laval University Medical Research Centre–Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Québec, Québec, Canada (ED and PA).
2 Supported by the Fonds de la Recherche en Santé du Québec (Research Scholarship to DL), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Réseau Québécois de Recherche sur le Vieillissement, the Formation Interdisciplinaire en Recherche sur la Santé et le Vieillissement, and the Chaire de Gériatrie de l’Université Laval (doctoral fellowships to EK). 3 Present address for EK: Division of Pharmaco-epidemiology and Pharmacotherapy, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Science, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands. 4 Address correspondence to D Laurin, Centre d'Excellence sur le Vieillissement de Québec, Unité de Recherche sur le Vieillissement, Centre de Recherche FRSQ du Centre Hospitalier Affilié Universitaire de Québec, Hôpital du Saint-Sacrement, Local L2-30 1050, Chemin Sainte-Foy, Québec, PQ, G1S 4L8 Canada. E-mail: danielle.laurin{at}pha.ulaval.ca.
Background: Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n–3 PUFAs) may protect against dementia, although epidemiologic studies have yielded inconclusive results. Fish is the main dietary source of n–3 PUFAs and is sometimes contaminated with mercury. This neurotoxicant may modify the association with dementia.
Objective: We evaluated the association of erythrocyte membrane total n–3 PUFAs, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and blood mercury with the incidence of dementia and Alzheimer disease (AD) in the Canadian Study of Health and Aging (CSHA) with adjustment for confounders including apolipoprotein E 
4 (APOE 4) status.
Design: The CSHA is a cohort study of a representative sample of persons aged 
65 y, conducted from 1991 to 2002. A subsample of 663 nondemented CSHA subjects with a complete clinical examination, blood samples, and follow-up information was eligible for prospective analyses on laboratory measurements. Of these, 149 were incident cases of dementia, including 105 with AD.
Results: In adjusted Cox regression models with age as the time scale, there were no associations between total n–3 PUFAs, DHA, or EPA and dementia or AD. In contrast, a mercury concentration in the highest quartile was associated with a reduced risk of dementia (hazard ratio: 0.53; 95% CI: 0.33, 0.88). However, significant risk reductions were limited to subjects with concentrations of both n–3 PUFAs and mercury that were above the median. There was no modification of risk by APOE 4 status.
Conclusions: No associations between n–3 PUFAs and dementia or AD were found. The results regarding mercury may indicate a spurious association.
This article has been cited by other articles:
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  G. M. Cole and S. A. Frautschy DHA May Prevent Age-Related Dementia J. Nutr., April 1, 2010; 140(4): 869 - 874. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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