Prospective Relations between Red Blood Cell n‐6 and n‐3 Fatty Acid Composition and Cognitive Function among Older Puerto Rican Adults
Bibliographic record
Abstract
Objectives To examine the association between red blood cell (RBC) n‐6 and n‐3 fatty acid (FA) composition, their ratio, and 2‐y cognitive function and incidence of cognitive impairment among older U.S. mainland Puerto Ricans. Methods Data are from the Boston Puerto Rican Health Study. RBC membrane FA status was ascertained at baseline. Total n‐6 FA composition was defined as the sum total of FAs 18:3n‐6, 18:2n‐6, 20:3n‐6, 20:4n‐6, 22:5n‐6, 22:4n‐6, and 20:2n‐6 expressed as a percent of total FA content. Total n‐3 FAs included 18:3n‐3, 20:5n‐3, 22:5n‐3, and 22:6n‐3. General cognitive function was measured at baseline and at 2‐y (median, IQR: 2.0 y, 1.9–2.2) using the Mini‐Mental State Exam (MMSE). The MMSE is on a scale of 0–30 with a higher score indicating better function. We defined cognitive impairment as MMSE scores ≤21, ≤23, and ≤24 for those with less than a high school education, a high school degree, and some college education or higher, respectively. Relations between RBC FAs and 2‐y MMSE scores were examined in 946 participants and incidence of cognitive impairment among those considered to have normal baseline cognitive function (n=639). Results Participants were predominantly female (74%) and 57±8 y of age. In multivariate models, total n‐6 FAs were associated with lower MMSE scores at 2‐y (Table, Model 2, P‐trend= 0.003), which remained significant after accounting for baseline MMSE score (Model 3, P‐trend=0.02). Total n‐3 FAs were positively (Model 2, P‐trend=0.04) and the n‐6:n‐3 ratio inversely (Model 2, P‐trend=0.007) related to 2‐y cognitive function, but these relationships attenuated with adjustment for baseline score (Model 3). The incidence of cognitive impairment at follow‐up was 22%. In multivariate models, a 1% increase in total n‐6 FAs was related to a 9% greater incidence of cognitive impairment [RR=1.09 (95% CI: 1.01, 1.18), P=0.03]. The n‐6:n‐3 ratio was positively associated with incident cognitive impairment [RR=1.13 (95% CI: 1.00, 1.27), P=0.05], whereas total n‐3 FAs were inversely related [RR=0.92 (0.81 to 1.04), P=0.16]. We did not find evidence of interaction between total n‐6 and n‐3 FAs and associations with 2‐y MMSE score or incident cognitive impairment. Conclusions An objective biomarker of n‐6 FA consumption and metabolism was consistently associated with poorer cognitive function and incidence of cognitive impairment over 2‐y follow‐up. Our data suggest that greater intakes of food sources of n‐6 FA may play a role in cognitive decline among older U.S. mainland Puerto Ricans. Support or Funding Information This research was supported by NIH grants P01‐AG023394, P50‐HL105185, and R01‐AG027087 Baseline composition of red blood cell total n‐6, n‐3, and n‐6:n‐3 fatty acid ratio and relations with 2‐y Mini‐Mental State Exam scores (n=946) Red Blood Cell Fatty Acid Composition (Quartiles) Fatty acid Model 1 2 3 4 P‐trend n=236 n=237 n=237 n=236 Total n‐6 33.2 ± 1.5% 35.4 ± 0.4% 36.6 ± 0.3% 38.2 ± 0.9% 1 23.8 (23.3, 24.2) 23.4 (23.0, 23.8) 23.4 (23.0, 23.7) 22.9 (22.5, 23.4) 0.007 2 23.7 (23.3, 24.2) 23.4 (22.9, 23.8) 23.4 (22.9, 23.8) 22.8 (22.3, 23.3) 0.003 3 23.5 (23.1, 23.8) 23.4 (23.2, 23.7) 23.3 (22.9, 23.7) 23.0 (22.6, 23.3) 0.02 Total n‐3 5.2 ± 0.5% 6.1 ± 0.2% 6.9 ± 0.2% 8.3 ± 0.9% 1 23.1 (22.7, 23.5) 23.2 (22.8, 23.6) 23.3 (22.9, 23.7) 23.8 (23.4, 24.2) 0.02 2 23.1 (22.7, 23.6) 23.2 (22.8, 23.7) 23.3 (22.8, 23.7) 23.7 (23.3, 24.2) 0.04 3 23.2 (22.8, 23.6)
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.000 | 0.001 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Open science | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Research integrity | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.001 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".