Title:Association of Dietary Prebiotic Consumption with Reduced Risk of
Alzheimer’s Disease in a Multiethnic Population
Volume: 18
Issue: 12
Author(s): Mia Nishikawa, Adam M. Brickman, Jennifer J. Manly, Nicole Schupf, Richard P. Mayeux and Yian Gu*
Affiliation:
- Department of Neurology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, United States
- Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center, Columbia University
Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
- Taub Institute for Research in Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging,
Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University
Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY, USA
Keywords:
Dietary Prebiotic Consumption, Alzheimer’s Disease, Dementia, APOE Genotype, Central Nervous System (CNS), Parkinson’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis.
Abstract:
Objective: This study aimed to investigate the association between dietary prebiotic intake
and risk for Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
Methods: This longitudinal study includes 1,837 elderly (≥65 years) participants of a multi-ethnic
community-based cohort study who were dementia-free at baseline and had provided dietary information
from food frequency questionnaires. Total daily intake of fructan, one of the best-known
prebiotics, was calculated based on consumption frequency and fructan content per serving of 8
food items. The associations of daily fructan intake with AD risk were examined using a Cox proportional
hazards model, adjusted for cohort recruitment wave, age, gender, race/ethnicity, education,
daily caloric intake, and APOE genotype. Effect modification by race/ethnicity, APOE genotype,
and gender was tested by including an interaction term into the Cox models, as well as by
stratified analyses.
Results: Among 1,837 participants (1,263 women [69%]; mean [SD] age = 76 [6.3] years), there
were 391 incident AD cases during a mean follow-up of 7.5 years (13736 person-years). Each additional
gram of fructan intake was associated with 24% lower risk for AD ((95% CI)=0.60-0.97; P
=0.03). Additional adjusting for smoking, alcohol consumption, and comorbidity index did not
change results materially. The associations were not modified by race/ethnicity, gender, and APOE
genotype, although stratified analyses showed that fructan intake was significantly associated with
reduced AD risk in Hispanics but not in non-Hispanic Blacks or Whites.
Conclusion: Higher dietary fructan intake is associated with a reduced risk of clinical Alzheimer’s
disease among older adults.