Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, Goethe-University, Frankfurt, Germany.
Institute of General Practice, Goethe-University Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany.
Acta Neuropsychiatr. 2021 Jun;33(3):134-140. doi: 10.1017/neu.2021.1. Epub 2021 Jan 22.
Dietary lipids (omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3) PUFAs) and saturated fatty acids (SFA) seem to play an important role in brain health. (n-3) PUFAs have been shown to improve cerebral perfusion and to promote synaptogenesis. In this study, we investigated the relationship between dietary fat composition, cognitive performance and brain morphology in cognitively healthy individuals.
A total of 101 cognitively healthy participants (age: 42.3 ± 21.3 years, 62 females) were included in this study. Verbal memory was assessed using the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT). Intake of (n-3) PUFA and SFA was calculated from food-frequency questionnaire-derived data (EPIC-FFQ). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data were obtained (Siemens Trio 3T scanner) and grey matter volumes (GMV) were assessed by voxel-based morphometry (VBM/SPM8). We examined the association of SFA/(n-3) PUFA ratio and memory performance as well as GMV using regression models adjusted for age, sex, education, body mass index, apolipoprotein E (APOE) status and alcohol consumption. For VBM data, a multiple regression analysis was performed using the same covariates as mentioned before with intracranial volume as an additional covariate.
A high SFA/(n-3) PUFA ratio was significantly (p < 0.05) correlated with poorer verbal memory performance and with lower GMV in areas of the left prefrontal cortex that support memory processes.
These findings suggest that a diet rich in PUFAs is likely to exert favourable effects on brain morphology in brain areas important for memory and executive functions. This could constitute a possible mechanism for maintaining cognitive health in older age.
膳食脂质（ω-3 多不饱和脂肪酸（n-3）PUFAs）和饱和脂肪酸（SFA）似乎在大脑健康中起着重要作用。（n-3）PUFAs 已被证明可改善脑灌注并促进突触发生。在这项研究中，我们研究了认知健康个体的饮食脂肪组成、认知表现和大脑形态之间的关系。
本研究共纳入 101 名认知健康参与者（年龄：42.3±21.3 岁，62 名女性）。使用加利福尼亚语言学习测试（CVLT）评估言语记忆。（n-3）PUFA 和 SFA 的摄入量通过食物频率问卷（EPIC-FFQ）得出的数据进行计算。使用西门子 Trio 3T 扫描仪获得磁共振成像（MRI）数据，并通过基于体素的形态测量学（VBM/SPM8）评估灰质体积（GMV）。我们使用回归模型，通过调整年龄、性别、教育程度、体重指数、载脂蛋白 E（APOE）状态和酒精摄入量，检查 SFA/（n-3）PUFA 比值与记忆表现和 GMV 的相关性。对于 VBM 数据，使用相同的协变量进行多元回归分析，除了上述协变量外，还将颅内体积作为额外的协变量。
SFA/（n-3）PUFA 比值较高与言语记忆表现较差和左前额叶皮质等支持记忆过程的大脑区域的 GMV 降低显著相关（p<0.05）。
这些发现表明，富含 PUFAs 的饮食可能对记忆和执行功能等重要脑区的大脑形态产生有利影响。这可能是维持老年人认知健康的一种可能机制。
