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  • Red Blood Cell DHA Is Inver...
    Sala-Vila, Aleix; Satizabal, Claudia L; Tintle, Nathan; Melo van Lent, Debora; Vasan, Ramachandran S; Beiser, Alexa S; Seshadri, Sudha; Harris, William S

    Nutrients, 06/2022, Volume: 14, Issue: 12
    Journal Article

    Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) might help prevent Alzheimer's disease (AD). Red blood cell (RBC) status of DHA is an objective measure of long-term dietary DHA intake. In this prospective observational study conducted within the Framingham Offspring Cohort (1490 dementia-free participants aged ≥65 years old), we examined the association of RBC DHA with incident AD, testing for an interaction with carriership. During the follow-up (median, 7.2 years), 131 cases of AD were documented. In fully adjusted models, risk for incident AD in the highest RBC DHA quintile (Q5) was 49% lower compared with the lowest quintile (Q1) (Hazard ratio HR: 0.51, 95% confidence interval CI: 0.27, 0.96). An increase in RBC DHA from Q1 to Q5 was predicted to provide an estimated 4.7 additional years of life free of AD. We observed an interaction DHA × carriership for AD. Borderline statistical significance for a lower risk of AD was observed per standard deviation increase in RBC DHA (HR: 0.71, 95% CI: 0.51, 1.00, = 0.053) in carriers, but not in non-carriers (HR: 0.85, 95% CI: 0.65, 1.11, = 0.240). These findings add to the increasing body of literature suggesting a robust association worth exploring dietary DHA as one strategy to prevent or delay AD.