Associations among dietary 1-carbon metabolism nutrients, genetic risk, and Alzheimer disease: a prospective cohort study

Abstract

BackgroundThe associations between 1-carbon metabolism (OCM) nutrients (methionine, folate, vitamin B-6, and vitamin B-12) and Alzheimer disease (AD) remains inconclusive. ObjectivesThis study aimed to investigate the association of dietary OCM nutrients with subsequent risk of AD and further assess whether participants with high genetic risk for AD might benefit from dietary OCM nutrients. MethodsWe analyzed data from 192,214 participants who completed at least one 24-h dietary questionnaire and had no previous history of AD based on the UK Biobank. Nutrients intake was calculated using McCance and Widdowson’s The Composition of Food and USDA’s Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies. Cox proportional models with restricted cubic splines were applied to explore the associations. ResultsOver a median follow-up of 13.35 y, 959 cases of AD (41 early-onset cases and 918 late-onset cases) were identified. Compared with those in the low-intake OCM group (quartile 1), participants in the high-intake OCM group (quartile 4) had reduced risk of developing AD. The corresponding hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for methionine, folate, vitamin B-6, and vitamin B-12 intake were 0.66 (0.54, 0.80), 0.71 (0.58, 0.87), 0.71 (0.59, 0.87), and 0.77 (0.64, 0.93), respectively. Similar associations were observed in late-onset AD. In early-onset AD, high methionine and vitamin B-12 intake were associated with 70% (HR: 0.30; 95% CI: 0.10, 0.86) and 71% (HR: 0.29; 95% CI: 0.09, 0.96) reduction in risk, respectively. Participants with low genetic risk and high OCM nutrients intake had >75% reduced AD risk compared with high-risk, low-intake participants. ConclusionsIn this prospective cohort study, we found that higher intake of OCM nutrients is associated with reduced risk of AD. Participants with high genetic risk of AD are more likely to benefit from dietary OCM nutrients intake.