Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids and Reduced Odds of MCI: The Mayo Clinic Study of Aging

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Roberts, Rosebud O.^{a; *} | Cerhan, James R.^a | Geda, Yonas E.^{a; c} | Knopman, David S.^d | Cha, Ruth H.^b | Christianson, Teresa J.H.^b | Pankratz, V. Shane^b | Ivnik, Robert J.^c | O'Connor, Helen M.^e | Petersen, Ronald C.^{a; d}

Affiliations: [a] Division of Epidemiology, Department of Health Sciences Research, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA | [b] Division of Biomedical Statistics and Informatics, Department of Health Sciences Research, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA | [c] Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA | [d] Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA | [e] Office for Human Research Protection, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA

Correspondence: [*] Correspondence to: Rosebud O. Roberts, MB ChB, MS, Division of Epidemiology, Department of Health Sciences Research, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, Minnesota 55905, USA. Tel.: +1 507 284 5656; Fax: +1 507 284 1516; E-mail: roberts.rosebud@mayo.edu.

Abstract: Mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids (MUFA, PUFA) have been associated with a reduced risk of dementia. The association of these fatty acids with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is not fully established. The objective of the study was to investigate the cross-sectional association of dietary fatty acids with MCI in a population-based sample. Participants aged ⩾ 70 years on October 1, 2004, were evaluated using the Clinical Dementia Rating Scale (participant and informant), a neurological evaluation, and neuropsychological testing. A panel of nurses, physicians, and neuropsychologists reviewed the data for each participant in order to establish a diagnosis of MCI, normal cognition, or dementia by consensus. Participants also completed a 128-item food-frequency questionnaire. Among 1,233 non-demented subjects, 163 (13.2%) had MCI. The odds ratio (OR) of MCI decreased with increasing PUFA and MUFA intake. Compared to the lowest tertile, the OR (95% confidence interval) for the upper tertiles were 0.44 (0.29–0.66; p for trend = 0.0004) for total PUFA; 0.44 (0.30–0.67; p for trend = 0.0004) for omega-6 fatty acids; 0.62 (0.42–0.91; p for trend = 0.012) for omega-3 fatty acids; and 0.56 (0.38–0.83; p for trend = 0.01) for (MUFA+PUFA):saturated fatty acid ratio after adjustment for age, sex, number of years of education, and caloric intake. In this study, higher intake of PUFA and MUFA was associated with a reduced likelihood of MCI among elderly persons in the population-based setting.

Keywords: Cross-sectional studies, dietary fats, mild cognitive impairment, monounsaturated fatty acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids, population-based

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-2010-091597

Journal: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 21, no. 3, pp. 853-865, 2010