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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Boston, Massachusetts » Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #203998
Title: Cognitive Findings of an Exploratory Trial of Docosahexaenoic Acid and Lutein in Older Women

Author
item Johnson, Elizabeth
item MCDONALD, KAREN - TENACRE SCHOOL
item CALDARELLA, SUSAN - SCHEPENS EYE RESEARCH INS
item CHUNG, HAE-YUN - YONSEI UNIVERSITY
item SNODDERLY, D. MAX - MEDICAL COLLEGE O/GEORGIA
item TROEN, ARON - TUFTS UNIVERSITY

Submitted to: Nutritional Neuroscience
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/1/2008
Publication Date: 5/1/2008
Citation: Johnson, E., Mcdonald, K., Caldarella, S.M., Chung, H., Snodderly, D. 2008. Cognitive Findings of an Exploratory Trial of Docosahexaenoic Acid and Lutein in Older Women. Nutritional Neuroscience. 11:75-83.

Interpretive Summary: Low levels of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and low intake of foods rich in lutein may negatively affect cognitive function. DHA is a commonly found in fish oil and lutein is found in green leafy vegetables. DHA and lutein are concentrated in the brain. The objective of this study was to determine effects of supplemental DHA and/or lutein on cognitive function in older women. Supplemental levels were high, but attainable by diet. In this four-month, 49 older women (60-80 yrs) were supplemented with placebo (n=10), DHA (n=14), lutein (n=11) or a combination of DHA and lutein (n=14). At 0 and 4 months subjects completed cognitive tests measuring verbal fluency, memory, processing speed and accuracy, and self reports of mood. After supplementation, subjects in DHA, Lutein, and DHA + Lutein groups significantly increased the number of items within a category they could name within one minute. Subjects receiving DHA + Lutein learned all items on a shopping list more quickly and recalled more common household items after a delay. There was also a trend suggesting more efficient learning of lists of random words by subjects receiving DHA + Lutein. Increases in speed and accuracy and improvement in reports of mood were not found in the supplemented groups, although subjects in the Placebo group increased their speed but not their accuracy in choosing the odd visual display in a test of choice response time. These results suggest that intake of DHA and lutein may improve cognitive function in the elderly.

Technical Abstract: Low levels of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and low intake of foods rich in lutein may negatively affect cognitive function. DHA and lutein are concentrated in the brain. The objective of this study was to determine effects of supplemental DHA (800 mg/d) and/or lutein (12 mg/d) on cognitive function in older women. In this four-month randomized double-blind intervention trial, 49 older women (60-80 yrs) were supplemented with placebo (n=10), DHA (n=14), lutein (n=11) or a combination of DHA and lutein (n=14). At 0 and 4 months subjects completed cognitive tests measuring verbal fluency, memory, processing speed and accuracy, and self reports of mood. After supplementation, subjects in DHA, Lutein, and DHA + Lutein groups significantly increased the number of items within a category they could name within one minute (p=0.03). Subjects receiving DHA + Lutein learned all items on a shopping list more quickly (p=0.03) and recalled more common household items after a delay (p=0.02). There was also a trend suggesting more efficient learning of lists of random words by subjects receiving DHA + Lutein (p=0.07). Increases in speed and accuracy and improvement in reports of mood were not found in the supplemented groups, although subjects in the Placebo group increased their speed (p=0.04) but not their accuracy in choosing the odd visual display in a test of choice response time. These results suggest that intake of DHA and lutein may improve cognitive function in the elderly.