Abstract
Multifactorial lifestyle intervention is known to be more effective for ameliorating cognitive decline than single factor intervention; however, the effects of combining exercise with long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) on the elderlies' cognitive function remain unclear. We conducted a randomised, single-masked placebo-controlled trial in non-demented elderly Japanese individuals. Participants were randomly allocated to the exercise with LCPUFA, placebo, or no exercise with placebo (control) groups. Participants in the exercise groups performed 150 min of exercise per week, comprised resistance and aerobic training, for 24 weeks with supplements of either LCPUFA (docosahexaenoic acid, 300 mg/day; eicosapentaenoic acid, 100 mg/day; arachidonic acid, 120 mg/day) or placebo. Cognitive functions were evaluated by neuropsychological tests prior to and following the intervention. The per-protocol set analysis (n = 76) revealed no significant differences between the exercise and the control groups in changes of neuropsychological tests. Subgroup analysis for participants with low skeletal muscle mass index (SMI) corresponding to sarcopenia cut-off value showed changes in selective attention, while working memory in the exercise with LCPUFA group was better than in the control group. These findings suggest that exercise with LCPUFA supplementation potentially improves attention and working memory in the elderly with low SMI.
Highlights
Multifactorial lifestyle intervention is known to be more effective for ameliorating cognitive decline than single factor intervention; the effects of combining exercise with longchain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) on the elderlies’ cognitive function remain unclear
Significant improvements of exercise with LCPUFA supplementation on selective attention and working memory were observed in participants with low skeletal muscle mass index (SMI) in subgroup analysis (n = 28)
This is a first report suggesting that exercise with nutritional supplementation comprised LCPUFA could potentially improve attention and working memory in the elderly with tendency to sarcopenia
Summary
Multifactorial lifestyle intervention is known to be more effective for ameliorating cognitive decline than single factor intervention; the effects of combining exercise with longchain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) on the elderlies’ cognitive function remain unclear. The subgroup analysis in MAPT study revealed the multifactorial intervention’s tendency on improving attention in prefrail elderlies with memory c omplaints[12] This finding potentially posits that the multifactorial lifestyle intervention including exercise and nutrition could provide additional beneficial effects on the elderly who are frail or sarcopenia prone. This could be partially supported by previous studies that frailty or sarcopenia was an important risk factor for age-related cognitive decline[13,14]. We conducted a 24-week randomised control pilot trial to investigate the effects of moderate-intensity exercise (150 min/week) with LCPUFA (DHA 300 mg, EPA 100 mg and ARA 120 mg/day) supplementation combination on cognitive function in the non-demented elderly Japanese with cognitive decline complaint. Further subgroup analysis by low skeletal muscle mass index (SMI) corresponding to sarcopenia cut-off value were performed to evaluate whether the combined intervention in this study had an added effect in elderly participants with sarcopenia tendency
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