Caroline S Duchaine1,2, Alexandra J Fiocco3, Pierre-Hugues Carmichael2, Stephen C Cunnane4, Mélanie Plourde4, Aurélie Lampuré5, Benjamin Allès6, Sylvie Belleville7, Pierrette Gaudreau5, Nancy Presse4,7,8, Guylaine Ferland9, Danielle Laurin1,2,10. 1. Centre de recherche du CHU de Québec-Université Laval, VITAM-Centre de recherche en santé durable, CIUSSS-Capitale Nationale and Institut sur le vieillissement et la participation sociale des aînés, Quebec, Canada. 2. Centre d'excellence sur le vieillissement de Québec, Quebec, Canada. 3. Department of Psychology, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 4. Centre de recherche sur le vieillissement du CIUSSS-de-l'Estrie-CHUS, Université de Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. 5. Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal Research Center and Faculté de Médecine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 6. Équipe de recherche en épidémiologie nutritionnelle, UMR U1153 Inserm/U1125 INRAE/Cnam/Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, UFR SMBH, Paris, France. 7. Centre de recherche de l'Institut Universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal, CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 8. Faculté de médecine et des sciences de la santé, Université de Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. 9. Montreal Heart Institute, Department of Nutrition, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 10. Faculté de pharmacie, Université Laval and Institut sur la nutrition et les aliments fonctionnels (INAF) de l'Université Laval, Quebec, Canada.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Omega-3 (n-3) PUFAs are suggested to play a role in the prevention of cognitive decline. The evidence may be inconsistent due to methodologic issues, including interrelations with other long-chain (14 or more carbons) fatty acids (LCFAs) and use of sex as a confounding factor rather than an effect modifier. OBJECTIVES: This study evaluated the association between serum n-3 PUFAs and performance across 4 cognitive domains, overall and by sex, while controlling for other LCFAs. METHODS: In total, 386 healthy older adults (aged 77.4 ± 3.8 y; 53% females) from the Quebec Longitudinal Study on Nutrition and Successful Aging underwent a cognitive evaluation and blood sampling. Verbal and nonverbal episodic memory, executive functioning, and processing speed were evaluated. Serum LCFA concentrations were measured by gas chromatography. LCFAs were grouped according to standard fatty acid classes and factor analysis using principal component analysis (FA-PCA). Multivariate linear regression models were performed, including unadjusted and adjusted models for other LCFAs. RESULTS: Higher n-3 PUFA concentrations were associated with better nonverbal memory and processing speed in fully adjusted models not including other LCFAs (βs of 0.21 and 0.19, respectively). The magnitude of these associations varied when other LCFAs were entered in the model (βs of 0.27 and 0.32, respectively) or when FA-PCA factors were considered (βs of 0.27 and 0.21, respectively). Associations with verbal episodic memory were limited to higher concentrations of EPA, whereas there was no association between n-3 PUFAs and executive functioning. Higher n-3 PUFAs were associated with better verbal and nonverbal episodic memory in females and with better executive functioning and processing speed in males. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that other LCFAs should be considered when evaluating the association between n-3 PUFAs and cognitive performance in healthy older adults. Sex differences across cognitive domains warrant further investigation.
BACKGROUND: Omega-3 (n-3) PUFAs are suggested to play a role in the prevention of cognitive decline. The evidence may be inconsistent due to methodologic issues, including interrelations with other long-chain (14 or more carbons) fatty acids (LCFAs) and use of sex as a confounding factor rather than an effect modifier. OBJECTIVES: This study evaluated the association between serum n-3 PUFAs and performance across 4 cognitive domains, overall and by sex, while controlling for other LCFAs. METHODS: In total, 386 healthy older adults (aged 77.4 ± 3.8 y; 53% females) from the Quebec Longitudinal Study on Nutrition and Successful Aging underwent a cognitive evaluation and blood sampling. Verbal and nonverbal episodic memory, executive functioning, and processing speed were evaluated. Serum LCFA concentrations were measured by gas chromatography. LCFAs were grouped according to standard fatty acid classes and factor analysis using principal component analysis (FA-PCA). Multivariate linear regression models were performed, including unadjusted and adjusted models for other LCFAs. RESULTS: Higher n-3 PUFA concentrations were associated with better nonverbal memory and processing speed in fully adjusted models not including other LCFAs (βs of 0.21 and 0.19, respectively). The magnitude of these associations varied when other LCFAs were entered in the model (βs of 0.27 and 0.32, respectively) or when FA-PCA factors were considered (βs of 0.27 and 0.21, respectively). Associations with verbal episodic memory were limited to higher concentrations of EPA, whereas there was no association between n-3 PUFAs and executive functioning. Higher n-3 PUFAs were associated with better verbal and nonverbal episodic memory in females and with better executive functioning and processing speed in males. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that other LCFAs should be considered when evaluating the association between n-3 PUFAs and cognitive performance in healthy older adults. Sex differences across cognitive domains warrant further investigation.
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