Department of Psychology, Whitelands College, University of Roehampton London, UK.
Diabetes and Nutritional Sciences Division, King's College London London, UK.
Front Hum Neurosci. 2013 Dec 11;7:838. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00838. eCollection 2013.
High intakes of fat have been linked to greater cognitive decline in old age, but such associations may already occur in younger adults. We tested memory and learning in 38 women (25 to 45 years old), recruited for a larger observational study in women with polycystic ovary syndrome. These women varied in health status, though not significantly between cases (n = 23) and controls (n = 15). Performance on tests sensitive to medial temporal lobe function (CANTABeclipse, Cambridge Cognition Ltd, Cambridge, UK), i.e., verbal memory, visuo-spatial learning, and delayed pattern matching (DMS), were compared with intakes of macronutrients from 7-day diet diaries and physiological indices of metabolic syndrome. Partial correlations were adjusted for age, activity, and verbal IQ (National Adult Reading Test). Greater intakes of saturated and trans fats, and higher saturated to unsaturated fat ratio (Sat:UFA), were associated with more errors on the visuo-spatial task and with poorer word recall and recognition. Unexpectedly, higher UFA intake predicted poorer performance on the word recall and recognition measures. Fasting insulin was positively correlated with poorer word recognition only, whereas higher blood total cholesterol was associated only with visuo-spatial learning errors. None of these variables predicted performance on a DMS test. The significant nutrient-cognition relationships were tested for mediation by total energy intake: saturated and trans fat intakes, and Sat:UFA, remained significant predictors specifically of visuo-spatial learning errors, whereas total fat and UFA intakes now predicted only poorer word recall. Examination of associations separately for monounsaturated (MUFA) and polyunsaturated fats suggested that only MUFA intake was predictive of poorer word recall. Saturated and trans fats, and fasting insulin, may already be associated with cognitive deficits in younger women. The findings need extending but may have important implications for public health.
高脂肪摄入量与老年人认知能力下降有关，但这种关联可能在年轻成年人中就已经存在。我们对 38 名女性（25 至 45 岁）进行了记忆力和学习能力测试，这些女性是多囊卵巢综合征女性更大规模观察性研究的招募对象。这些女性的健康状况各不相同，但在病例组（n=23）和对照组（n=15）之间没有显著差异。使用剑桥认知测试软件（Cambridge Cognition Ltd，英国剑桥）中的敏感内侧颞叶功能测试（CANTABeclipse），对语言记忆、视空间学习和延迟模式匹配（DMS）进行了测试，比较了这些女性从 7 天饮食日记中获取的宏量营养素摄入量以及代谢综合征的生理指标。部分相关系数根据年龄、活动量和语言智商（全国成人阅读测试）进行了调整。饱和脂肪和反式脂肪摄入量较高，饱和脂肪与不饱和脂肪的比例（Sat:UFA）较高，与视空间任务错误较多以及单词回忆和识别能力较差有关。出乎意料的是，较高的 UFA 摄入量预示着单词回忆和识别能力更差。空腹胰岛素仅与单词识别能力较差呈正相关，而总胆固醇水平较高仅与视空间学习错误相关。这些变量均不能预测 DMS 测试的表现。测试了这些营养素与认知之间的关系是否存在中介作用：饱和脂肪和反式脂肪的摄入量以及 Sat:UFA 仍然是视空间学习错误的显著预测因子，而总脂肪和 UFA 的摄入量现在仅预测单词回忆能力更差。分别对单不饱和脂肪（MUFA）和多不饱和脂肪进行关联分析表明，只有 MUFA 的摄入量与单词回忆能力较差有关。饱和脂肪和反式脂肪以及空腹胰岛素可能已经与年轻女性的认知缺陷有关。这些发现需要进一步扩展，但可能对公共卫生具有重要意义。
