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Comparative Study
. 2013 Aug;35(4):1495-505.
doi: 10.1007/s11357-012-9453-3. Epub 2012 Jul 13.

Dietary intake of eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids is linked to gray matter volume and cognitive function in elderly

Olga E Titova  1 , Per Sjögren, Samantha J Brooks, Joel Kullberg, Erika Ax, Lena Kilander, Ulf Riserus, Tommy Cederholm, Elna-Marie Larsson, Lars Johansson, Håkan Ahlström, Lars Lind, Helgi B Schiöth, Christian Benedict
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Dietary intake of eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids is linked to gray matter volume and cognitive function in elderly

Olga E Titova et al. Age (Dordr). 2013 Aug.

Abstract

In the present study, we tested whether elderly with a high dietary intake of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) would have higher cognitive test scores and greater brain volume than those with low dietary intake of these fatty acids. Data were obtained from the Prospective Investigation of the Vasculature in Uppsala Seniors (PIVUS) cohort. The dietary intake of EPA and DHA was determined by a 7-day food protocol in 252 cognitively healthy elderly (122 females) at the age of 70 years. At age 75, participants' global cognitive function was examined, and their brain volumes were measured by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Three different multivariate linear regression models were applied to test our hypothesis: model A (adjusted for gender and age), model B (additionally controlled for lifestyle factors, e.g., education), and model C (further controlled for cardiometabolic factors, e.g., systolic blood pressure). We found that the self-reported 7-day dietary intake of EPA and DHA at the age of 70 years was positively associated with global gray matter volume (P < 0.05, except for model C) and increased global cognitive performance score (P < 0.05). However, no significant associations were observed between the dietary intake of EPA and DHA and global white matter, total brain volume, and regional gray matter, respectively. Further, no effects were observed when examining cognitively impaired (n = 27) elderly as separate analyses. These cross-sectional findings suggest that dietary intake of EPA and DHA may be linked to improved cognitive health in late life but must be confirmed in patient studies.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Subject inclusionary criteria and sample sizes
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Positive correlation between daily intake of eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids and their proportion in serum phospholipids. Correlational analyses between the estimated daily dietary intake of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and the proportion of these fatty acids in circulating phospholipids (PL) at the age of 70 years. Spearman's rho = 0.40, P < 0.05; N = 252
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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