One-carbon metabolism nutrients protect against Alzheimer’s disease

A higher dietary intake of one-carbon metabolism (OCM) nutrients, such as methionine, folate, vitamin B-6, and vitamin B-12, may reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), suggests a study.

Data from 192,214 participants who completed at least one 24-h dietary questionnaire and had no previous history of AD based on the UK Biobank were analysed. The investigators calculated nutrients intake using McCance and Widdowson’s The Composition of Food and USDA’s Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies. They also assessed associations using Cox proportional models.

A total of 959 AD cases (41 early onset and 918 late onset) were identified over a median follow-up of 13.35 years. Participants in the high-intake OCM group had a lower risk of developing AD than those in the low-intake group.

The hazard ratios (HRs) were as follows: 0.66 (95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.54–0.80) for methionine, 0.71 (95 percent CI, 0.58–0.87) for folate, 0.71 (95 percent CI, 0.59–0.87) for vitamin B-6, and 0.77 (95 percent CI, 0.64–0.93) for vitamin B-12.

Similar associations were seen in late-onset AD.

Additionally, high methionine (HR, 0.30, 95 percent CI, 0.10–0.86) and vitamin B-12 (HR, 0.29, 95 percent CI, 0.09–0.96) correlated with a risk reduction in early-onset AD.

“Participants with low genetic risk and high OCM nutrients intake had >75-percent reduced AD risk compared with high-risk, low-intake participants,” the investigators said.