title: Monounsaturated, trans, and saturated Fatty acids and cognitive decline in women.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To prospectively assess effects of select dietary fats on cognitive decline.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective observational; 3-year follow-up.
  
  
  METHODS
  Northwestern University.
  
  
  METHODS
  Four hundred eighty-two women aged 60 and older who participated in the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) Observational Study or in the control group of the WHI Diet Modification arm.
  
  
  METHODS
  Dietary intake from a validated food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) administered twice (mean 2.7 years apart) before baseline cognitive assessment (mean 2.9 years after second FFQ) was averaged. Testing of memory, vision, executive function, language, and attention was performed twice, 3 years apart. A global Z-score was created for both time points by averaging all Z-scores for each participant, and global cognitive change was defined as the difference between follow-up and baseline Z-scores.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Median intake of saturated fat (SFA), trans-fat, (TFA), dietary cholesterol (DC), and monounsaturated fat (MUFA) was 18.53, 3.45, 0.201, and 19.39 g/d, respectively. There were no associations between degree of cognitive decline and intake of SFA (P=.69), TFA (P=.54), or DC (P=.64) after adjusting for baseline cognition, total energy intake, age, education, reading ability, apolipoprotein E ɛ4 allele, body mass index, estrogen and beta-blocker use, and intake of caffeine and other fatty acids. In contrast, MUFA intake was associated with lower cognitive decline in fully adjusted linear regression models, with mean decline (standard error) of 0.21 (0.05) in the lowest and 0.05 (0.05) in the highest quartiles (P=.02). This effect of MUFA intake was primarily in the visual and memory domains (P=.03 for both).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Greater intake of SFA, TFA, and DC was not associated with cognitive decline, whereas greater MUFA intake was associated with less cognitive decline.
authors.affiliation: Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. anaqvi@bidmc.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Asghar Z
authors.initials: AZ
authors.lastname: Naqvi
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Harty
authors.forename: Kenneth J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Mukamal
authors.forename: Anne M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Stoddard
authors.forename: Mara
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vitolins
authors.forename: Julie E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Dunn
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000453:epidemiology; D004034:Diet Surveys; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005229:Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007087:Illinois / Q000453:epidemiology; D016018:Least-Squares Analysis; D016014:Linear Models; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D044242:Trans Fatty Acids / Q000009:adverse effects*
chemical_list: D005227:Fatty Acids; D005229:Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated; D044242:Trans Fatty Acids