Department of Molecular Imaging & Neuropathology, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY 10032, USA.
Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA.
Nutrients. 2023 Oct 26;15(21):4542. doi: 10.3390/nu15214542.
Neurocognitive deficits are implicated in major depressive disorder (MDD) and suicidal behavior, and cognitive function may be affected by blood levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). Neuroprotective functions have been described for omega-3 (-3) PUFAs, while omega-6 (-6) PUFAs exhibit broadly opposing activities. Both classes of PUFAs are linked to MDD and suicidal behavior. However, few studies have investigated the relationships between PUFAs and neurocognitive function with respect to MDD or suicidal behavior. Among participants with MDD ( = 45) and healthy volunteers (HV, = 30) we assessed performance on tasks of attentional capacity and executive function and its relationship to plasma phospholipid PUFA levels, expressed as a percentage of total plasma phospholipids, for eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA%), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA%), and arachidonic acid (AA%). Regression models tested the correlations between PUFA levels and task performance in three groups: MDD with a history of suicide attempt (SA, = 20), MDD with no attempts (NA, = 25), and HV. Interaction testing indicated a significant positive correlation of EPA% with continuous performance test scores in the NA group ( = 4.883, = 2,72, = 0.01), a measure of sustained attention. The AA% correlated negatively with performance on two executive function tasks, object alternation ( = -3.97, -score = -2.67, = 0.008) and the Wisconsin card sort ( = 0.80, -score = -2.16, = 69, = 0.035), after adjustment for group and age, with no group effects. Our findings suggest a role for PUFA imbalance in attentional functioning and executive performance; however, no MDD-specific effect was observed.
神经认知缺陷与重度抑郁症（MDD）和自杀行为有关，而认知功能可能受多不饱和脂肪酸（PUFAs）的血液水平影响。ω-3（-3）PUFAs 具有神经保护作用，而 ω-6（-6）PUFAs 则表现出广泛相反的作用。这两类 PUFAs 均与 MDD 和自杀行为有关。然而，很少有研究调查 PUFAs 与认知功能与 MDD 或自杀行为之间的关系。在患有 MDD 的参与者（= 45）和健康志愿者（HV，= 30）中，我们评估了注意力容量和执行功能任务的表现，以及其与血浆磷脂 PUFA 水平的关系，以占总血浆磷脂的百分比表示，分别为二十碳五烯酸（EPA%）、二十二碳六烯酸（DHA%）和花生四烯酸（AA%）。回归模型测试了三个组（有自杀企图史的 MDD [SA，= 20]、无自杀企图的 MDD [NA，= 25]和 HV）中 PUFA 水平与任务表现之间的相关性。交互测试表明，NA 组 EPA%与连续表现测试评分呈显著正相关（= 4.883，= 2，72，= 0.01），这是一种持续注意力的衡量标准。AA%与两项执行功能任务的表现呈负相关，物体交替（= -3.97，-得分=-2.67，= 0.008）和威斯康星卡片分类（= 0.80，-得分=-2.16，= 69，= 0.035），调整组和年龄后，无组间差异。我们的研究结果表明，PUFA 失衡与注意力功能和执行表现有关；然而，没有观察到 MDD 特异性效应。
