Location: Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging
2022 Annual Report
Objectives
Objective 1: Characterize diet to determine patterns that associate with healthy aging, and construct models of the various components of these dietary patterns to determine the contribution that each component of the pattern provides to overall associations, while concurrently considering the joint associations of different dietary components.
Subobjective 1.A: Form a new cohort composed of participants adhering to more plant-based dietary patterns to identify factors associated with long-term adherence to healthier dietary patterns and to examine the health benefits of adherence to these dietary patterns.
Subobjective 1.B: Describe the relationship between water intake, hydration and age, and examine the relationships between water intake and hydration and healthy aging.
Objective 2: Determine the relationships between specific foods, nutrients, and other bioactive dietary components of dietary patterns and healthy aging and key elements of healthy aging, such as physical, metabolic, musculoskeletal, vision, and cognitive function.
Subobjective 2.A: Examine the relationship between inadequate vitamin B12 status and accelerated brain aging and explore potential exacerbation of this relationship by high folate status.
Objective 3: Examine the potential genetic modification of the relationships between dietary patterns and their constituents associated with healthy aging, and employ metabolomic and transcriptomic “signatures” of optimal dietary patterns and of healthy aging to detect pathways that may link diet and healthy aging.
Subobjective 3.A: Examine the association between sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption and dyslipidemia and determine if single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the CHREBP locus affect this association.
Approach
Diet plays a critical role in maintaining health across the lifespan, but questions remain about the relationship between nutrition and healthy aging, including physical, cardiometabolic, and cognitive health. Using an epidemiological approach applied to community-based, aging populations, we will study diet patterns and provide the evidence needed to create interventions to foster healthy aging. Most of our research will focus on the impact of the entire diet and dietary behaviors, a departure from the more traditional approach of isolating single nutrients. This approach, broadly referred to as dietary pattern analysis, is more predictive of health outcomes and more reflective of the way people eat.
We will link this approach with genetics, metabolomics, and transcriptomics in the context of large community-based aging cohorts so we can characterize not just healthy aging phenomena, but make an impact by identifying optimal dietary and behavior patterns at both the individual and population levels. The dietary pattern methodology allows us to capture the complexity of diet and the interactions of different dietary components. In addition to conventional diets, we will include alternative diets such as whole food and plant-based (e.g., vegan diets). We will identify factors associated with adherence to such diets; examine potential mechanisms by which bioactive dietary components affect health outcomes (e.g., B vitamins and dementia); and identify factors, such as genetic variation, responsible for differences in response to dietary patterns and food components (such as sugar intake). Results of this research will allow us to translate the science of nutrition and healthy aging into guidance for the public.
Progress Report
Progress was seen in many areas for the online Adhering to Dietary Approaches for Personal Taste (ADAPT) project, a longitudinal study of healthy dietary patterns and psychobiological, cultural, social, and environmental predictors of long-term dietary adherence to popular dietary patterns in adults (Subobjective 1.A). We have completed the 24-month follow-up of this cohort (n= 1,403), including the administration of a newly developed electronic 3-day food record in a sub-cohort of 250 participants to capture dietary patterns in greater detail and determine feasibility for use in larger cohorts. This project has resulted in three scientific presentations on the relationship of adherence and eating behaviors among followers of popular diets; the association between duration of adherence to a plant-based diets and better food purchasing habits; and the interrelationships between adherence, compliance, and diet quality among followers of popular diets. In addition to the latter presentation, which is being drafted into a manuscript for publication, a manuscript describing the motivations for adhering to plant-based and omnivorous popular diets has been submitted for publication. We have also completed an assessment of dietary and supplement intake across four different dietary patterns using three different dietary assessment methods (food frequency, three-day food record, and 24-hour diet recall) in the sub-cohort who completed the diet records, which will result in multiple manuscripts.
As part of other research examining dietary patterns that are associated with healthy aging (Objective 1), we examined healthy diet patterns in relation to genetic markers of aging, cancer risk, and brain health. Working with collaborators from Boston University and the Framingham Heart Study, we found that higher diet quality was associated with lower levels of biological aging based on age-related DNA methylation (epigenetic) patterns, that better adherence to a Mediterranean-style dietary pattern had a lower risk of total cancers, and that greater adherence to the Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) Diet was associated with some indices of healthy heart structure and function measured by echocardiography. Again working with investigators from Boston University and the Framingham Heart Study as well as the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and other US and international universities, we observed that a diet pattern associated with greater levels of inflammation (using the Dietary Inflammation Index) was associated with greater brain aging based on MRI brain images, and that greater adherence to the MIND Diet was associated with better global cognitive function, verbal memory, visual memory, processing speed, and verbal comprehension/reasoning, and also with larger total brain volume a maker of brain health.
As part of Objective 2, we continued to maintain our long-running program on carbohydrates and healthy aging. In a recently published study, we demonstrated that participants with higher whole grain consumption were better at maintaining healthier waist circumference, glucose, blood pressure, cholesterol, and triglycerides, all of which help to promote better cardiometabolic health; whereas eating more refined grains was associated with increased waist circumference and higher triglyceride concentrations, which increase cardiometabolic risk. These observations help us better understand how whole and refined grain intake is linked to the development of cardiovascular disease. In an ongoing study, we are testing the hypothesis that low carbohydrate patterns focusing on preservation of high-quality carbohydrates sources and substitution of low-quality carbohydrate sources with healthy fatty acids is associated with better overall cardiometabolic health.
We also continue our work on B vitamins and healthy aging. Our study of B vitamins and brain health among participants of the Framingham Heart Study continues with the laboratory assessment of B vitamin for the follow-up examinations. While awaiting the completion of the laboratory analyses, we have undertaken an examination of the relationship between B vitamin supplement use and Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. We also developed a hypothesis paper, based on decades of evidence from our own research and that of many other investigators, regarding the long observed, but poorly understood, vitamin B12–folate interaction seen in individuals with inadequate B12 status when exposed to high intakes of folic acid. We propose that this interaction represents a novel cause of vitamin B-12 depletion with specific etiology. We hypothesize that excessive intake of folic acid depletes serum holotranscobalamin (the active form of B12), thereby decreasing active vitamin B-12 in the circulation and limiting its availability for tissues. We are developing new projects to test our hypothesis.
As part of our examination of the potential genetic modification of the relationships between diet and healthy aging (Objective 3), we were able to demonstrate, in collaboration with investigators from Hebrew Senior Life and Harvard Medical School, that genetic variants can modify the associations of concentrations of B vitamin biomarkers and bone mineral density.
Accomplishments
1. Plain water consumption may be more hydrating than from other beverages. While it is well-known that rates of dehydration in older adults are high, there is little evidence regarding the role of different sources of fluids in maintaining adequate hydration in older adults. ARS-funded researchers in Boston, Massachusetts, examined the relationship between beverage consumption patterns and fluid intake in 2,051 community-dwelling older adults, on average 70 years, and the relation of different beverage consumption patterns to hydration status based on 24-hour urinary creatinine concentrations in a subset of 825 participants. We identified five unique consumption patterns characterized by consumption of plain water, skim/low-fat milk, alcoholic beverages, sweet beverages (juices and sugar-sweetened beverages), and tea. Higher adherence to all beverage consumption patterns, except the tea pattern, was associated with more fluid intake, but fluid intake did not relate to hydration status equally for all patterns. Greater adherence to the plain water pattern was associated with the best hydration. The skim/low-fat milk pattern was also positively associated with better hydration status. Greater adherence to the alcoholic beverage pattern was unrelated to hydration status and greater adherence to the sweet beverage pattern was inversely associated with hydration status. Consequently, for older adults to maintain proper hydration, they must consider the source, not just the amount, of fluids they consume.
Review Publications
Karlsen, M.C., Lichtenstein, A.H., Economos, C.D., Folta, S.C., Chang, R., Rogers, G., Jacques, P.F., Livingston, K.A., McKeown, N.M. 2020. Participant characteristics and self-reported weight status in a cross-sectional survey of self-identified followers of popular diets: Adhering to Dietary Approaches for Personal Taste ADAPT Feasibility Survey. Public Health Nutrition. 23(15):2717-2727. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980020001330.
Kim, Y., Huan, T., Joehanes, R., McKeown, N.M., Horvath, S., Levy, D., Ma, J. 2021. Higher diet quality relates to decelerated epigenetic aging. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 115(1):163-170. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/nqab201.
Jacques, P.F., Rogers, G., Stookey, J.D., Perrier, E.T. 2021. Water intake and markers of hydration are related to cardiometabolic risk biomarkers in community-dwelling older adults: a cross-sectional analysis. Journal of Nutrition. 151(10):3205-3213. https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/nxab233.
McRorie, Jr, J.W., Gibb, R., Sloan, K., McKeown, N.M. 2021. Psyllium: the gel-forming nonfermented isolated fiber that delivers multiple fiber-related health benefits. Nutrition Today. 56(4):169-182. https://doi.org/10.1097/NT.0000000000000489.
Lee, J., Walker, M.E., Bourdillon, M.T., Spartano, N.L., Rogers, G., Jacques, P.F., Vasan, R.S., Xanthakis, V. 2021. Conjoint associations of adherence to physical activity and dietary guidelines with cardiometabolic health: The Framingham Heart Study. Journal of the American Heart Association. 10(7):e019800. https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.120.019800.
Horace, R.W., Roberts, M., Shireman, T., Merhi, B., Jacques, P.F., Bostom, A.G., Liu, S., Eaton, C.B. 2021. Remnant cholesterol is prospectively associated with cardiovascular disease events and all-cause mortality in kidney transplant recipients: the FAVORIT study. Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation. 37(2):382-389. https://doi.org/10.1093/ndt/gfab068.
Walker, M.E., O'Donnell, A.A., Himali, J.J., Rajendran, I., van Lent, D.M., Ataklte, F., Jacques, P.F., Beiser, A.S., Seshadri, S., Vasan, R.S., Xanthakis, V. 2021. Associations of the Mediterranean-Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay diet with cardiac remodeling in the community: the Framingham Heart Study. British Journal of Nutrition. 126(12):1888-1896. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007114521000660.
Liu, C., Karasik, D., Zhou, Y., Broe, K., Cupples, L., de Groot, L.C., Ham, A., Hannan, M.T., Hsu, Y., Jacques, P.M., McLean, R.R., Ligi, P., Selhub, J., van der Velde, N., van Schoor, N., Kiel, D.P. 2021. Genetic variants modify the associations of concentrations of methylmalonic acid, vitamin B-12, vitamin B-6, and folate with bone mineral density. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/nqab093.
Sahni, S., Dufour, A.B., Fielding, R.A., Newman, A.B., Kiel, D.P., Hannan, M.T., Jacques, P.F. 2020. Total carotenoid intake is protective against loss of grip strength and gait speed over time in adults: the Framingham Offspring Study. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 113(2):437-445. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/nqaa288.
Jacques, P.F., Rogers, G. 2021. A beneficial cardiometabolic health profile associated with long-term multiple dietary supplement use: a cross-sectional study. International Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research. https://doi.org/10.1024/0300-9831/a000701.
Melo Van Lent, D., O'Donnell, A., Beiser, A.S., Vasan, R.S., Decarli, C.S., Scarmeas, N., Wagner, M., Jacques, P.F., Seshadri, S., Himali, J.J., Pase, M. 2021. Mind diet adherence and cognitive performance in the Framingham Heart Study. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. 82(2):827-839. https://doi.org/10.3233/JAD-201238.
Yiannakou, I., Singer, M.R., Jacques, P.F., Xanthakis, V., Ellison, R., Moore, L.L. 2021. Adherence to a Mediterranean-Style dietary pattern and cancer risk in a prospective cohort study. Nutrients. 13(11):4064. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13114064.
Xu, C., Selhub, J., Jacques, P.F., Paynter, N.P., MacFadyen, J.G., Glynn, R.J., Ridker, P.M., Solomon, D.H. 2020. Adverse effects related to methotrexate polyglutamate levels: adjudicated results from the cardiovascular inflammation reduction trial. Rheumatology. 60(6):2963-2968. https://doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/keaa650.
Selhub, J., Miller, J.W., Troen, A.M., Mason, J.B., Jacques, P.F. 2021. Perspective: The high-folate-low-vitamin B-12 interaction is a novel cause of vitamin B-12 depletion with a specific etiology-A hypothesis. Advances in Nutrition. 13(1):16-33. https://doi.org/10.1093/advances/nmab106.
