Association of dietary and nutritional factors with cognitive decline, dementia, and depressive symptomatology in older individuals according to a neurogenesis-centred biological susceptibility to brain ageing.

Hippocampal neurogenesis (HN) occurs throughout the life course and is important for memory and mood. Declining with age, HN plays a pivotal role in cognitive decline (CD), dementia, and late-life depression, such that altered HN could represent a neurobiological susceptibility to these conditions. Pertinently, dietary patterns (e.g., Mediterranean diet) and/or individual nutrients (e.g., vitamin D, omega 3) can modify HN, but also modify risk for CD, dementia, and depression. Therefore, the interaction between diet/nutrition and HN may alter risk trajectories for these ageing-related brain conditions. Using a subsample (n = 371) of the Three-City cohort-where older adults provided information on diet and blood biobanking at baseline and were assessed for CD, dementia, and depressive symptomatology across 12 years-we tested for interactions between food consumption, nutrient intake, and nutritional biomarker concentrations and neurogenesis-centred susceptibility status (defined by baseline readouts of hippocampal progenitor cell integrity, cell death, and differentiation) on CD, Alzheimer's disease (AD), vascular and other dementias (VoD), and depressive symptomatology, using multivariable-adjusted logistic regression models. Increased plasma lycopene concentrations (OR [95% CI] = 1.07 [1.01, 1.14]), higher red meat (OR [95% CI] = 1.10 [1.03, 1.19]), and lower poultry consumption (OR [95% CI] = 0.93 [0.87, 0.99]) were associated with an increased risk for AD in individuals with a neurogenesis-centred susceptibility. Increased vitamin D consumption (OR [95% CI] = 1.05 [1.01, 1.11]) and plasma γ-tocopherol concentrations (OR [95% CI] = 1.08 [1.01, 1.18]) were associated with increased risk for VoD and depressive symptomatology, respectively, but only in susceptible individuals. This research highlights an important role for diet/nutrition in modifying dementia and depression risk in individuals with a neurogenesis-centred susceptibility.

The association between adherence to the EAT-Lancet diet and cognitive ageing.

BACKGROUND: The EAT-Lancet commission has proposed a dietary pattern that is both sustainable and healthy. However, the impact of this diet on cognition in older adults remains unexplored. Therefore, we examined the association between adherence to the EAT-Lancet diet and cognitive ageing. METHODS: We used data from a previous intervention study involving cognitively healthy community-dwelling adults aged ≥65 years. Adherence to the EAT-Lancet diet was calculated using a recently published index and a 190-item food frequency questionnaire. Global and domain-specific cognitive functioning were assessed at baseline and after 2 years using a neuropsychological test battery. Multivariate-adjusted linear regression was conducted to examine associations between EAT-Lancet diet adherence and cognitive functioning (n = 630) and 2-year change (n = 302). RESULTS: Greater adherence to the EAT-Lancet diet was associated with better global cognitive functioning (ß per SD = 3.7 points [95% CI]: 0.04 [0.00, 0.08]) and slower rate of decline (ß per SD [95% CI]: 0.05 [0.02, 0.08]). With respect to domain-specific functioning, beneficial associations were observed cross-sectionally for executive functioning (P < 0.01), and longitudinally for change in executive functioning (P < 0.01) and attention and working memory (P < 0.01). The degree of adherence to the EAT-Lancet was not associated with (changes in) information processing speed or episodic memory. CONCLUSION: We demonstrated that greater adherence to the EAT-Lancet diet is associated with better global cognitive functioning and slower cognitive decline among cognitively healthy older adults. Further research is needed to confirm these findings and assess the potential benefits of the EAT-Lancet diet for the ageing population in a broader context.

Nutrition for dementia prevention: a state of the art update for clinicians.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Dementia prevalence continues to rise. It is therefore essential to provide feasible and effective recommendations to encourage healthy brain ageing and reduce dementia risk across the population. Appropriate nutrition represents a potential strategy to mitigate dementia risk and could be recommended by clinicians as part of mid-life health checks and other health initiatives to reduce dementia prevalence. The purpose of this review is to provide a clinician-focused update on the current state of the knowledge on nutrition and dementia prevention. METHODS: Narrative review. RESULTS: Strong evidence exists to support the consumption of healthy, plant-based dietary patterns (e.g. Mediterranean, MIND or Nordic diet) for maintaining cognitive function and reducing dementia risk in later life and is supported by dementia prevention guideline from leading public health bodies (e.g. World Health Organization). Emerging evidence suggests potential cognitive benefits of consuming specific nutrients/foods (e.g. n-3 fatty acids or fish, flavonols and B-vitamins) and multi-nutrient compounds (e.g. Fortasyn Connect). Challenges and opportunities for integrating nutritional/dietary interventions for dementia prevention into clinical practice are explored in this review. CONCLUSIONS: Appropriate nutrition represents an important factor to help facilitate healthy cognitive ageing and allay dementia risk. The information provided in this article can help clinicians provide informed opinions on appropriate nutritional strategies as part of mid-life Health Checks and other risk reduction initiatives.

Cognitive and neuroscientific perspectives of healthy ageing.

With dementia incidence projected to escalate significantly within the next 25 years, the United Nations declared 2021-2030 the Decade of Healthy Ageing, emphasising cognition as a crucial element. As a leading discipline in cognition and ageing research, psychology is well-equipped to offer insights for translational research, clinical practice, and policy-making. In this comprehensive review, we discuss the current state of knowledge on age-related changes in cognition and psychological health. We discuss cognitive changes during ageing, including (a) heterogeneity in the rate, trajectory, and characteristics of decline experienced by older adults, (b) the role of cognitive reserve in age-related cognitive decline, and (c) the potential for cognitive training to slow this decline. We also examine ageing and cognition through multiple theoretical perspectives. We highlight critical unresolved issues, such as the disparate implications of subjective versus objective measures of cognitive decline and the insufficient evaluation of cognitive training programs. We suggest future research directions, and emphasise interdisciplinary collaboration to create a more comprehensive understanding of the factors that modulate cognitive ageing.

Cardiovascular Health, Race, and Decline in Cognitive Function in Midlife Women: The Study of Women's Health Across the Nation.

BACKGROUND: Cognitive decline may progress for decades before dementia onset. Better cardiovascular health (CVH) has been related to less cognitive decline, but it is unclear whether this begins early, for all racial subgroups, and all domains of cognitive function. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of CVH on decline in the 2 domains of cognition that decline first in White and Black women at midlife. METHODS AND RESULTS: Subjects were 363 Black and 402 White women, similar in baseline age (mean±SD, 46.6±3.0 years) and education (15.7±2.0 years), from the Chicago site of the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation. Cognition, measured as processing speed and working memory, was assessed annually or biennially over a maximum of 20 years (mean±SD, 9.8±6.7 years). CVH was measured as Life's Essential 8 (blood pressure, body mass index, glucose, non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, smoking, physical activity, diet, sleep). Hierarchical linear mixed models identified predictors of cognitive decline with progressive levels of adjustment. There was a decline in processing speed that was explained by race, age, and the 3-way interaction of race, CVH, and time (F1,4308=8.8, P=0.003). CVH was unrelated to decline in White women but in Black women poorer CVH was associated with greater decline. Working memory did not decline in the total cohort, by race, or by CVH. CONCLUSIONS: In midlife Black women, CVH promotion may be a target for preventing the beginnings of cognitive decline, thereby enhancing independent living with aging.

[The reversible share of cognitive deficits in older adults]. / La part réversible des déficits cognitifs chez les seniors.

Cognitive performance of older adults is very often inferior to that of younger adults on a variety of laboratory tests assessing basic functions such as memory, inhibition, or attention. Classic hypotheses and theories share the idea that these cognitive deficits are irreversible, due to profound cerebral changes. In this review article, we develop a more positive conception of aging, according to which cognitive deficits are not all irreversible, and can even be partially if not completely reversible. To this end, we present some of the most illustrative research on the reversibility of the effects of aging on cognition. We show how subtle contextual manipulations can change older adults' motivation and strategy, which improve their cognitive performance. We also show that guidance toward the selection of the most appropriate strategy, whether explicit as in selectivity paradigms or implicit as in dual-task procedures, can increase older adults' cognitive performance. We finally describe the hypotheses and theories that both account for low cognitive performance in old age and ways to reverse the effects of cognitive aging.

Functionally annotated electrophysiological neuromarkers of healthy ageing and memory function.

The unprecedented increase in life expectancy presents a unique opportunity and the necessity to explore both healthy and pathological aspects of ageing. Electroencephalography (EEG) has been widely used to identify neuromarkers of cognitive ageing due to its affordability and richness in information. However, despite the growing volume of data and methodological advancements, the abundance of contradictory and non-reproducible findings has hindered clinical translation. To address these challenges, our study introduces a comprehensive workflow expanding on previous EEG studies and investigates various static and dynamic power and connectivity estimates as potential neuromarkers of cognitive ageing in a large dataset. We also assess the robustness of our findings by testing their susceptibility to band specification. Finally, we characterise our findings using functionally annotated brain networks to improve their interpretability and multi-modal integration. Our analysis demonstrates the effect of methodological choices on findings and that dynamic rather than static neuromarkers are not only more sensitive but also more robust. Consequently, they emerge as strong candidates for cognitive ageing neuromarkers. Moreover, we were able to replicate the most established EEG findings in cognitive ageing, such as alpha oscillation slowing, increased beta power, reduced reactivity across multiple bands, and decreased delta connectivity. Additionally, when considering individual variations in the alpha band, we clarified that alpha power is characteristic of memory performance rather than ageing, highlighting its potential as a neuromarker for cognitive ageing. Finally, our approach using functionally annotated source reconstruction allowed us to provide insights into domain-specific electrophysiological mechanisms underlying memory performance and ageing. HIGHLIGHTS: We provide an open and reproducible pipeline with a comprehensive workflow to investigate static and dynamic EEG neuromarkers. Neuromarkers related to neural dynamics are sensitive and robust. Individualised alpha power characterises cognitive performance rather than ageing. Functional annotation allows cross-modal interpretation of EEG findings.

The hippocampus as a structural and functional network epicentre for distant cortical thinning in neurocognitive aging.

Alterations in grey matter (GM) and white matter (WM) are associated with memory impairment across the neurocognitive aging spectrum and theorised to spread throughout brain networks. Functional and structural connectivity (FC,SC) may explain widespread atrophy. We tested the effect of SC and FC to the hippocampus on cortical thickness (CT) of connected areas. In 419 (223 F) participants (agemean=73 ±â€¯8) from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, cortical regions associated with memory (Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test) were identified using Lasso regression. Two structural equation models (SEM), for SC and resting-state FC, were fitted including CT areas, and SC and FC to the left and right hippocampus (LHIP,RHIP). LHIP (ß=-0.150,p=<.001) and RHIP (ß=-0.139,p=<.001) SC predicted left temporopolar/rhinal CT; RHIP SC predicted right temporopolar/rhinal CT (ß=-0.191,p=<.001). LHIP SC predicted right fusiform/parahippocampal (ß=-0.104,p=.011) and intraparietal sulcus/superior parietal CT (ß=0.101,p=.028). Increased RHIP FC predicted higher left inferior parietal CT (ß=0.132,p=.042) while increased LHIP FC predicted lower right fusiform/parahippocampal CT (ß=-0.97; p=.023). The hippocampi may be epicentres for cortical thinning through disrupted connectivity.

Comment on Krikorian et al. Early Intervention in Cognitive Aging with Strawberry Supplementation. Nutrients 2023, 15, 4431.

I read with interest the paper by Krikorian et al [...].

Reply to Lee, S.Y. Comment on "Krikorian et al. Early Intervention in Cognitive Aging with Strawberry Supplementation. Nutrients 2023, 15, 4431".

In his Comment [...].

Child support grant expansion and cognitive function among women in rural South Africa: Findings from a natural experiment in the HAALSI cohort.

BACKGROUND: Cash transfers are a promising but understudied intervention that may protect cognitive function in adults. Although South Africa has a rapidly ageing population, little is known about the nature of association between cash transfers and cognitive function in this setting. OBJECTIVES: We leveraged age-eligibility expansions to South Africa's Child Support Grant (CSG) to investigate the association between duration of CSG eligibility and cognitive function of biological mothers of child beneficiaries in South Africa. METHODS: We analysed 2014/2015 baseline data from 944 women, aged 40-59 years with at least one CSG-eligible child, enrolled in the population-representative HAALSI cohort in Agincourt, South Africa. Duration of CSG eligibility for each mother was calculated based on the birth dates of all their children and the CSG age-eligibility expansion years (2003-2012). Cognitive function was measured using a cognitive battery administered at the HAALSI baseline interview. Linear regression was used to estimate the association between duration of CSG eligibility, dichotomized as low (≤10 years) and high (>10 years) eligibility, and cognitive function z-scores of the mothers. RESULTS: High vs. low duration of CSG eligibility, was associated with higher cognitive function z-scores in the full sample [ß: 0.15 SD units; 95% CI: 0.04, 0.26; p-value = 0.01]. In mothers with one to four lifetime children, but not five or more, high vs. low duration of CSG eligibility, was associated with higher cognitive function z-scores [ß: 0.19 SD units; 95% CI: 0.05, 0.34, p-value = 0.02]. CONCLUSION: Government cash transfers given to support raising children may confer substantial protective effects on the subsequent cognitive function of mothers. Further studies are needed to understand how parity may influence this relationship. Our findings bring evidence to policymakers for designing income supplementation programmes to promote healthy cognitive ageing in low-income settings.

Prevalencia de quejas subjetivas de memoria: estudio poblacional en España / Prevalence of subjective memory complaints: Population study in Spain

Introducción Las quejas subjetivas de memoria (QSM) pueden ser una señal inicial de un posterior deterioro de las funciones cognitivas. Sin embargo, no se han publicado estudios poblacionales cubriendo toda España para conocer la prevalencia de las QSM. El objetivo del presente estudio fue conocer la prevalencia de las QSM en la población general residente en España >50 años y, también qué actuaciones se llevaban a cabo al respecto. Materiales y métodos Se realizaron entrevistas mediante un cuestionario online/Computer Assisted Web Interview (CAWI) a una muestra representativa a nivel nacional >50 años. La encuesta constaba de 34 ítems divididos en 2 bloques. Se consideró presencia de QSM cuando en la pregunta 1 el sujeto contestaba que ‘Sí’ tenía algún problema de memoria. Resultados Se entrevistó a 2.300 personas (53,7% mujeres; 23,9% ≥75 años). El 31% contestaron que consideraban que tenían un problema de memoria (sin diferencias entre sexos, media de tiempo con problemas de memoria de 3,0 años). Se observó mayor prevalencia de QSM en ≥75 años (44%). El 90% no incluían ningún alimento específico en su dieta para sus problemas de memoria, y tampoco estaban tomando productos farmacéuticos, complementos de la dieta o suplementos nutricionales (92%). El 78% de los entrevistados con QSM no han consultado a profesionales sanitarios por sus problemas de memoria. Conclusiones Las QSM tienen una prevalencia considerable en nuestro medio, afectando a casi un tercio de los individuos >50 años. La mayoría de los entrevistados con quejas de memoria no buscó el consejo/recomendación de profesionales sanitarios con respecto a las mismas. (AU)

Introduction Subjective memory complaints (SMC) might be an early sign of further deterioration in cognitive functions. However, no population studies have been published covering all Spain to determine the SMC prevalence. The objective of the present study was to determine the SMC prevalence in the general population residing in Spain >50 years of age and also which related actions were done. Materials and methods Interviews were conducted with a nationally representative sample >50 years of age using an online/computer assisted web interview (CAWI) questionnaire. The survey consisted of 34 items divided into two blocks. Presence of SMC was considered when in question 1 the subject answered that “Yes” he had some memory problem. Results Two thousand three hundred people (53.7% women; 23.9% ≥75 years old) were interviewed. 31% answered that they considered they had a memory problem (no differences between sexes, mean time with memory problems of 3.0 years). A higher prevalence of SMC was observed in ≥75 years old (44%). 90% did not include any specific foods in their diet for their memory problems, neither were taking any pharmaceuticals, diet supplements or nutritional supplements (92%). 78% of those interviewed with SMC have not consulted health professionals for their memory problems. Conclusions SMC are considerably prevalent in our environment affecting almost a third of people ≥50 years of age. Most of the interviewees with SMC did not go to health professionals to manage their SMC. (AU)

Prevalencia de quejas subjetivas de memoria: estudio poblacional en España / Prevalence of subjective memory complaints: Population study in Spain

Introducción Las quejas subjetivas de memoria (QSM) pueden ser una señal inicial de un posterior deterioro de las funciones cognitivas. Sin embargo, no se han publicado estudios poblacionales cubriendo toda España para conocer la prevalencia de las QSM. El objetivo del presente estudio fue conocer la prevalencia de las QSM en la población general residente en España >50 años y, también qué actuaciones se llevaban a cabo al respecto. Materiales y métodos Se realizaron entrevistas mediante un cuestionario online/Computer Assisted Web Interview (CAWI) a una muestra representativa a nivel nacional >50 años. La encuesta constaba de 34 ítems divididos en 2 bloques. Se consideró presencia de QSM cuando en la pregunta 1 el sujeto contestaba que ‘Sí’ tenía algún problema de memoria. Resultados Se entrevistó a 2.300 personas (53,7% mujeres; 23,9% ≥75 años). El 31% contestaron que consideraban que tenían un problema de memoria (sin diferencias entre sexos, media de tiempo con problemas de memoria de 3,0 años). Se observó mayor prevalencia de QSM en ≥75 años (44%). El 90% no incluían ningún alimento específico en su dieta para sus problemas de memoria, y tampoco estaban tomando productos farmacéuticos, complementos de la dieta o suplementos nutricionales (92%). El 78% de los entrevistados con QSM no han consultado a profesionales sanitarios por sus problemas de memoria. Conclusiones Las QSM tienen una prevalencia considerable en nuestro medio, afectando a casi un tercio de los individuos >50 años. La mayoría de los entrevistados con quejas de memoria no buscó el consejo/recomendación de profesionales sanitarios con respecto a las mismas. (AU)

Introduction Subjective memory complaints (SMC) might be an early sign of further deterioration in cognitive functions. However, no population studies have been published covering all Spain to determine the SMC prevalence. The objective of the present study was to determine the SMC prevalence in the general population residing in Spain >50 years of age and also which related actions were done. Materials and methods Interviews were conducted with a nationally representative sample >50 years of age using an online/computer assisted web interview (CAWI) questionnaire. The survey consisted of 34 items divided into two blocks. Presence of SMC was considered when in question 1 the subject answered that “Yes” he had some memory problem. Results Two thousand three hundred people (53.7% women; 23.9% ≥75 years old) were interviewed. 31% answered that they considered they had a memory problem (no differences between sexes, mean time with memory problems of 3.0 years). A higher prevalence of SMC was observed in ≥75 years old (44%). 90% did not include any specific foods in their diet for their memory problems, neither were taking any pharmaceuticals, diet supplements or nutritional supplements (92%). 78% of those interviewed with SMC have not consulted health professionals for their memory problems. Conclusions SMC are considerably prevalent in our environment affecting almost a third of people ≥50 years of age. Most of the interviewees with SMC did not go to health professionals to manage their SMC. (AU)

Differential impacts of healthy cognitive aging on directed and random exploration.

Deciding whether to explore unknown opportunities or exploit well-known options is a ubiquitous part of our everyday lives. Extensive work in college students suggests that young people make explore-exploit decisions using a mixture of information seeking and random behavioral variability. Whether, and to what extent, older adults use the same strategies is unknown. To address this question, 51 older adults (ages 65-74) and 32 younger adults (ages 18-25) completed the Horizon Task, a gambling task that quantifies information seeking and behavioral variability as well as how these strategies are controlled for the purposes of exploration. Qualitatively, we found that older adults performed similar to younger adults on this task, increasing both their information seeking and behavioral variability when it was adaptive to explore. Quantitively, however, there were substantial differences between the age groups, with older adults showing less information seeking overall and less reliance on variability as a means to explore. In addition, we found a subset of approximately 26% of older adults whose information seeking was close to zero, avoiding informative options even when they were clearly the better choice. Unsurprisingly, these "information avoiders" performed worse on the task. In contrast, task performance in the remaining "information seeking" older adults was comparable to that of younger adults suggesting that age-related differences in explore-exploit decision making may be adaptive except when they are taken to extremes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Breaking the links between ageism and health: An integrated perspective.

Ageism refers to prejudice, stereotypes or discrimination based on a person's actual or perceived chronological age. While ageism can affect people at all stages of the human lifespan, ageism against older adults has emerged as the most pervasive and potentially harmful. Much is now understood about how ageism can impact older people's health and wellbeing via structural, organisational, and provider level biases that threaten the provision of equitable and ethical healthcare. Negative attitudes about age and ageing also contribute to workforce shortages in aged care sectors, such as residential aged care and nursing. However, often underappreciated is how self-directed ageism, which refers to ageism turned against oneself, can also be an important determinant of health and wellbeing. Relative to external sources of ageism, negative internalised ageist beliefs are not only experienced more frequently in older adults' everyday lives, but are also more strongly linked to their health and wellbeing. Here we highlight how this understanding means that eliminating ageism requires a multifaceted approach that targets not only health care systems and aged care professionals, but older people themselves. Because normal age-related cognitive changes in how we think, perceive and reason increase the risk of older people viewing themselves through a negative and ageist lens, we provide a novel discussion of how broader insights from cognitive ageing literature must play a central role in any agenda focused on breaking the links between ageism and health.

The WMI Rat of Premature Cognitive Aging Presents Intrinsic Vulnerability to Oxidative Stress in Primary Neurons and Astrocytes Compared to Its Nearly Isogenic WLI Control.

The primary neuronal and astrocyte culture described here is from the stress-hyperreactive Wistar Kyoto (WKY) More Immobile (WMI) rat with premature aging-related memory deficit, and its nearly isogenic control, the Less Immobile (WLI) strain. Primary WMI hippocampal neurons and cortical astrocytes are significantly more sensitive to oxidative stress (OS) generated by administration of H2O2 compared to WLI cells as measured by the trypan blue cell viability assay. Intrinsic genetic vulnerability is also suggested by the decreased gene expression in WMI neurons of catalase (Cat), and in WMI cortical astrocytes of insulin-like growth factor 2 (Igf2), synuclein gamma (Sncg) and glutathione peroxidase 2 (Gpx2) compared to WLI. The expressions of several mitochondrial genes are dramatically increased in response to H2O2 treatment in WLI, but not in WMI cortical astrocytes. We propose that the vulnerability of WMI neurons to OS is due to the genetic differences between the WLI and WMI. Furthermore, the upregulation of mitochondrial genes may be a compensatory response to the generation of free radicals by OS in the WLIs, and this mechanism is disturbed in the WMIs. Thus, this pilot study suggests intrinsic vulnerabilities in the WMI hippocampal neurons and cortical astrocytes, and affirm the efficacy of this bimodal in vitro screening system for finding novel drug targets to prevent oxidative damage in illnesses.