Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26757190›Full record

Trial reportJournal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD2016

Omega-3 Fatty Acid Status Enhances the Prevention of Cognitive Decline by B Vitamins in Mild Cognitive Impairment.

Abderrahim Oulhaj, Fredrik Jernerén, Helga Refsum, A David Smith, Celeste A de Jager

Open access · hybridAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 59 papers, 11 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
59citing papers in PubMed, 11 pooled it
18.0field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

59 citing papers in PubMed, 11 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 155 citations in OpenAlex.

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  18. Vitamin BNutrients · 2026
    Review
  19. Article
  20. Water extract ofMolecular medicine reports · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 3 institutions in 4 countries.

Abderrahim OulhajInstitute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, United Arab Emirates.
Fredrik JernerénOPTIMA, Department of Pharmacology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Helga RefsumOPTIMA, Department of Pharmacology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
A David SmithOPTIMA, Department of Pharmacology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Celeste A de JagerDivision of Geriatric Medicine, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa.
University of Oxford · GBUnited Arab Emirates University · AEUniversity of Cape Town · ZA

Funding

Medical Research Council
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

A randomized trial (VITACOG) in people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) found that B vitamin treatment to lower homocysteine slowed the rate of cognitive and clinical decline. We have used data from this trial to see whether baseline omega-3 fatty acid status interacts with the effects of B vitamin treatment. 266 participants with MCI aged ≥70 years were randomized to B vitamins (folic acid, vitamins B6 and B12) or placebo for 2 years. Baseline cognitive test performance, clinical dementia rating (CDR) scale, and plasma concentrations of total homocysteine, total docosahexaenoic and eicosapentaenoic acids (omega-3 fatty acids) were measured. Final scores for verbal delayed recall, global cognition, and CDR sum-of-boxes were better in the B vitamin-treated group according to increasing baseline concentrations of omega-3 fatty acids, whereas scores in the placebo group were similar across these concentrations. Among those with good omega-3 status, 33% of those on B vitamin treatment had global CDR scores >0 compared with 59% among those on placebo. For all three outcome measures, higher concentrations of docosahexaenoic acid alone significantly enhanced the cognitive effects of B vitamins, while eicosapentaenoic acid appeared less effective. When omega-3 fatty acid concentrations are low, B vitamin treatment has no effect on cognitive decline in MCI, but when omega-3 levels are in the upper normal range, B vitamins interact to slow cognitive decline. A clinical trial of B vitamins combined with omega-3 fatty acids is needed to see whether it is possible to slow the conversion from MCI to AD.

Indexed as

AgedAged, 80 and overCognitionCognitive DysfunctionDisease ProgressionFatty Acids, Omega-3FemaleHumansMaleNeuropsychological TestsTreatment OutcomeVitamin B ComplexFatty Acids, Omega-3Vitamin B ComplexAlzheimer’s diseaseB vitaminsclinical dementia rating scalecognitionomega–3 fatty acids

Identifiers

PMID26757190
PMCPMC4927899
OpenAlexW2230778873

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.