Important considerations when assessing the effect of essential fatty acids on cognitive performance

• Main Authors: Aayush Visaria, David Lo, Pranay Maniar
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2020-09-01
• Series: Nutrition Journal
• Subjects: Fatty acids; Nutrition; Cognitive impairment; Elderly
• Online Access: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12937-020-00619-8

Abstract Over the past decade, there have been many studies determining the effect of dietary ω-3 and ω-6 fatty acids intake on cognitive performance; however, they have largely been inconsistent in their conclusions. In this letter, we provide context to the article by Dong et al., titled “Association of dietary ω-3 and ω-6 fatty acids intake with cognitive performance in older adults: National Health and nutrition examination Survey (NHANES) 2011–2014” and provide methodological considerations with regards to covariate measurement and inclusion that can be generalized to future cross-sectional studies. In particular, delineating 1) the type and source of fatty acid, in context of an individual’s overall dietary patterns, 2) sociobehavioral risk factors and physical & mental comorbidities, 3) and daily cognitive activity are important to adequately control for covariates.