National Institute of Nutrition and Seafood Research (NIFES), P.O.Box 2029 Nordnes, 5817, Bergen, Norway.
Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Bergen, P.O. Box 7800, 5020, Bergen, Norway.
Nutr J. 2017 Oct 2;16(1):64. doi: 10.1186/s12937-017-0287-9.
Fatty fish is the dominant dietary source of n-3 LCPUFAs but it also contains other micronutrients considered important for brain development and function. To our knowledge, the effect of fatty fish intake on cognitive function in adolescents has not been investigated in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) previously. The aim of the present trial was to investigate whether consumption of fatty fish meals three times per week for 12 weeks could alter attention performance in adolescents compared to similar meals with meat or n-3 LCPUFA supplements.
In the Fish Intervention Studies-TEENS (FINS-TEENS), adolescents from eight secondary schools (n = 426; age: 14-15y) were individually randomized. Attention performance was assessed with the d2 test of attention. Differences between groups from pre to post intervention were assessed with linear mixed effect models and general estimates equation. The fish group was set as reference. Dietary compliance was recorded for each meal throughout the trial and controlled for in the adjusted analyses.
The improvement in processing speed was significantly lower in the meat (-11.8; 95% CI: -23.3, -0.4) and supplement (-13.4; 95% CI: -24.9, -1.8) group compared to the fish group (reference). The supplement group also showed inferior improvement in total performance (-10.4; 95% CI: -20.0, -0.7) compared to the fish group (reference). The results were slightly affected when controlling for dietary compliance. Omission errors decreased in the meat group compared to the fish group (Incidence rate ratio = 0.85; 95% CI: 0.74, 0.98), but the difference disappeared when controlling for dietary compliance.
We observed a small beneficial effect of fatty fish, compared to meat meals and supplements on processing speed. However, these results are difficult to interpret due to low dietary compliance. This study shows that different taste preferences among participants is challenging in intervention trials with food. A prospective cohort design may be a better alternative when studying diet in the future.
ClinicalTrials.gov registration number: NCT02350322 .
富含脂肪的鱼类是 n-3 长链多不饱和脂肪酸（LCPUFAs）的主要膳食来源，但它还含有其他被认为对大脑发育和功能很重要的微量营养素。据我们所知，富含脂肪的鱼类摄入量对青少年认知功能的影响以前尚未在随机对照试验（RCTs）中进行过研究。本试验的目的是研究每周食用三次富含脂肪的鱼类餐 12 周是否能改变青少年的注意力表现，与类似的肉类或 n-3 LCPUFA 补充剂餐相比。
在鱼类干预研究-青少年（FINS-TEENS）中，从八所中学（n = 426；年龄：14-15 岁）中进行个体随机分组。使用 d2 注意力测试评估注意力表现。采用线性混合效应模型和一般估计方程评估干预前后组间差异。将鱼类组作为参考组。在整个试验过程中记录每餐的饮食依从性，并在调整后的分析中进行控制。
与鱼类组（参考组）相比，肉类组（-11.8；95%CI：-23.3，-0.4）和补充剂组（-13.4；95%CI：-24.9，-1.8）的加工速度改善明显较低。与鱼类组（参考组）相比，补充剂组的总表现改善也较差（-10.4；95%CI：-20.0，-0.7）。当控制饮食依从性时，结果略有影响。与鱼类组相比，肉类组的遗漏错误减少（发生率比=0.85；95%CI：0.74，0.98），但当控制饮食依从性时，差异消失。
与肉类餐和补充剂相比，我们观察到富含脂肪的鱼类对加工速度有较小的有益影响。然而，由于饮食依从性低，这些结果难以解释。本研究表明，在富含食物的干预试验中，参与者的不同口味偏好具有挑战性。在未来研究饮食时，前瞻性队列设计可能是更好的选择。
ClinicalTrials.gov 注册号：NCT02350322。
