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.
Centre d'excellence sur le vieillissement de Québec, Quebec, Canada.
J Nutr. 2022 Sep 6;152(9):2117-2124. doi: 10.1093/jn/nxac110.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
ω-3（n-3）多不饱和脂肪酸被认为在预防认知能力下降方面发挥作用。由于方法学问题，包括与其他长链（14 个或更多碳原子）脂肪酸（LCFAs）的相互关系以及将性别用作混杂因素而不是效应修饰剂，证据可能不一致。
本研究评估了血清 n-3 多不饱和脂肪酸与 4 个认知领域的表现之间的关系，包括总体和性别，同时控制了其他 LCFAs。
共有 386 名来自魁北克营养与成功老龄化纵向研究的健康老年人（年龄 77.4±3.8 岁；53%为女性）接受了认知评估和血液采样。评估了言语和非言语情景记忆、执行功能和处理速度。通过气相色谱法测量血清 LCFAs 浓度。根据标准脂肪酸类别对 LCFAs 进行分组，并使用主成分分析（FA-PCA）进行因子分析。进行了多元线性回归模型，包括未调整和调整其他 LCFAs 的模型。
在未包括其他 LCFAs 的完全调整模型中，较高的 n-3 PUFA 浓度与更好的非言语记忆和处理速度相关（分别为 0.21 和 0.19）。当在模型中输入其他 LCFAs 时（分别为 0.27 和 0.32）或考虑 FA-PCA 因子时（分别为 0.27 和 0.21），这些关联的幅度会有所变化。与言语情景记忆的关联仅限于 EPA 的较高浓度，而 n-3 多不饱和脂肪酸与执行功能之间没有关联。较高的 n-3 多不饱和脂肪酸与女性的言语和非言语情景记忆以及男性的执行功能和处理速度较好相关。
这些结果表明，在评估健康老年人中 n-3 多不饱和脂肪酸与认知表现之间的关系时，应考虑其他 LCFAs。不同认知领域的性别差异需要进一步研究。
