Abstract
Convincing evidence exists for the positive effect of an improvement in diet quality on age-related cognitive decline, in part due to dietary fatty acid intake. A cross-sectional analysis of data from the Hunter Community Study (HCS) (n = 2750) was conducted comparing dietary data from a validated Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) with validated cognitive performance measures, Audio Recorded Cognitive Screen (ARCS) and Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE). Adjusted linear regression analysis found statistically significant associations between dietary intake of total n-6 fatty acids (FA), but no other FAs, and better cognitive performance as measured by the ARCS (RC = 0.0043; p = 0.0004; R2 = 0.0084). Multivariate regression analyses of n-6 FA intakes in quartiles showed that, compared with the lowest quartile (179.8–1150.3 mg), those in the highest quartile (2315.0–7449.4 mg) had a total ARCS score 2.1 units greater (RC = 10.60466; p = 0.006; R2 = 0.0081). Furthermore, when n-6 FA intake was tested against each of the ARCS domains, statistically significant associations were observed for the Fluency (RC = 0.0011432; p = 0.007; R2 = 0.0057), Visual (RC = 0.0009889; p = 0.034; R2 = 0.0050), Language (RC = 0.0010651; p = 0.047; R2 = 0.0068) and Attention (RC = 0.0011605; p = 0.017; R2 = 0.0099) domains, yet there was no association with Memory (RC = −0.000064; p = 0.889; R2 = 0.0083). No statistically significant associations were observed between FA intakes and MMSE. A higher intake of total n-6 FA, but not other types of FA, was associated with better cognitive performance among a representative sample of older aged Australian adults.
Highlights
The rapidly increasing prevalence of an age-related decline in cognitive performance is problematic across the globe, with an estimated 44 million people currently living with dementia worldwide [1].Approximately 430,000 Australian’s were estimated to have dementia in 2018 [1]
Our findings demonstrated that individuals with higher consumption of n-6 fatty acids (FA) had better cognitive performance as measured by the Audio Recorded Cognitive Screen (ARCS)
Contrary to much of the existing literature, which shows a positive association between increased dietary n-3 FA intake and cognitive performance, the present analyses found no statistically significant associations with the cognitive outcomes used in this study [12,16,17,18,19,20,21]
Summary
The rapidly increasing prevalence of an age-related decline in cognitive performance is problematic across the globe, with an estimated 44 million people currently living with dementia worldwide [1]. 430,000 Australian’s were estimated to have dementia in 2018 [1]. This is expected to rise, reflecting the age structure and growth of the Australian population, with an estimation of 4.0%. Of the population to have dementia by the year 2050 [2]. In 2016, the estimated annual total cost of dementia was $8.8 billion within Australia alone, an increase of 81% is predicted by 2036 to an estimated $25.8 billion [6]. Delaying the onset of cognitive impairment would decrease the average number of years spent living with the disease, and reduce healthcare costs [4]
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