Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37315924›Full record

Trial reportThe American journal of clinical nutrition2023

A combined DHA-rich fish oil and cocoa flavanols intervention does not improve cognition or brain structure in older adults with memory complaints: results from the CANN randomized, controlled parallel-design study.

David Vauzour, Andrew Scholey, David J White, Neal J Cohen, Aedín Cassidy, Rachel Gillings, Michael A Irvine, Colin D Kay, Min Kim, Rebecca King and 4 more

Registry-linked trialOpen access · hybridAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in The American journal of clinical nutrition, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02525198 (A Randomised Controlled Trial in 'At Risk' Humans Investigating the Cognitive Benefits of a Combined Flavonoid/Fatty Acid Intervention and Underlying Mechanisms of Action), which is not on this map. Cited by 9 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
3.1field-weighted citation impact, top 9% 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.

NCT02525198 nacompletednot on this map

A Randomised Controlled Trial in 'At Risk' Humans Investigating the Cognitive Benefits of a Combined Flavonoid/Fatty Acid Intervention and Underlying Mechanisms of Action: The COGNITIVE AGING NUTRITION and NEUROGENESIS (CANN) Trial

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversity of East AngliaRan2015 to 2018Enrolled259ConditionsMild Cognitive Impairment, Subjective Memory ImpairmentArmsfatty acid/flavonoid blend, Placebo
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 19 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.

David VauzourNorwich Medical School, University of East Anglia (UEA), Norwich, United Kingdom. Electronic address: D.Vauzour@uea.ac.uk.
Andrew ScholeyCentre for Human Psychopharmacology, Swinburne University, Australia. Electronic address: andrew@scholeylab.com.
David J WhiteCentre for Human Psychopharmacology, Swinburne University, Australia.
Neal J CohenBeckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States.
Aedín CassidyNorwich Medical School, University of East Anglia (UEA), Norwich, United Kingdom; Institute for Global Food Security, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Rachel GillingsNorwich Medical School, University of East Anglia (UEA), Norwich, United Kingdom.
Michael A IrvineNorwich Medical School, University of East Anglia (UEA), Norwich, United Kingdom.
Colin D KayPlants for Human Health Institute, Food Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences Department, North Carolina State University, North Carolina Research Campus, Kannapolis, NC, United States.
Min KimTranslational and Clinical Chemistry, Kings College London, London, Norwich, United Kingdom.
Rebecca KingCentre for Human Psychopharmacology, Swinburne University, Australia.
Cristina Legido-QuigleyTranslational and Clinical Chemistry, Kings College London, London, Norwich, United Kingdom.
John F PotterNorwich Medical School, University of East Anglia (UEA), Norwich, United Kingdom.
Hilary SchwarbBeckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States.
Anne-Marie MinihaneNorwich Medical School, University of East Anglia (UEA), Norwich, United Kingdom; Norwich Institute of Healthy Ageing (NIHA), UEA, Norwich, Norwich, United Kingdom.
University of East Anglia · GBSwinburne University of Technology · AUKing's College - North Carolina · USUniversity of Illinois Urbana-Champaign · USNorth Carolina State University · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThere is evidence that both omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) (eicosapentaenoic acid [EPA] and docosahexaenoic acid [DHA]) and cocoa flavanols can improve cognitive performance in both healthy individuals and in those with memory complaints. However, their combined effect is unknown.

objectivesTo investigate the combined effect of EPA/DHA and cocoa flavanols (OM3FLAV) on cognitive performance and brain structures in older adults with memory complaints.

methodsA randomized placebo-controlled trial of DHA-rich fish oil (providing 1.1 g/d DHA and 0.4 g/d EPA) and a flavanol-rich dark chocolate (providing 500 mg/d flavan-3-ols) was conducted in 259 older adults with either subjective cognitive impairment or mild cognitive impairment. Participants underwent assessment at baseline, 3 mo, and 12 mo. The primary outcome was the number of false-positives on a picture recognition task from the Cognitive Drug Research computerized assessment battery. Secondary outcomes included other cognition and mood outcomes, plasma lipids, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and glucose levels. A subset of 110 participants underwent structural neuroimaging at baseline and at 12 mo.

results197 participants completed the study. The combined intervention had no significant effect on any cognitive outcomes, with the exception of reaction time variability (P = 0.007), alertness (P < 0.001), and executive function (P < 0.001), with a decline in function observed in the OM3FLAV group (118.6 [SD 25.3] at baseline versus 113.3 [SD 25.4] at 12 mo for executive function) relative to the control, and an associated decrease in cortical volume (P = 0.039). Compared with the control group, OM3FLAV increased plasma HDL, total cholesterol ratio (P < 0.001), and glucose (P = 0.008) and reduced TG concentrations (P < 0.001) by 3 mo, which were sustained to 12 mo, with no effect on BDNF. Changes in plasma EPA and DHA and urinary flavonoid metabolite concentrations confirmed compliance to the intervention.

conclusionsThese results suggest that cosupplementation with ω-3 PUFAs and cocoa flavanols for 12 mo does not improve cognitive outcomes in those with cognitive impairment. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02525198.

Indexed as

ChocolateFatty Acids, Omega-3BrainBrain-Derived Neurotrophic FactorCognitionDietary SupplementsDocosahexaenoic AcidsDouble-Blind MethodEicosapentaenoic AcidFish OilsHumansBrain-Derived Neurotrophic FactorDocosahexaenoic AcidsEicosapentaenoic AcidFatty Acids, Omega-3Fish Oilsagingcognitionflavonoidsmild cognitive impairmentomega-3polyphenolssubjective cognitive impairment

Identifiers

PMID37315924
PMCPMC10447509
OpenAlexW4380355873

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

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.