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Dietary Fructose Intake and Hippocampal Structure and Connectivity during Childhood
Kristi A Clark1, Jasmin M Alves2,3, Sabrina Jones2,3
1Department of Neurology, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA.
Insights
High fructose intake in children is linked to changes in right hippocampus volume and brain connectivity. This supports animal studies showing sugar
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Pediatric Nutrition
- Brain Imaging
Background:
- Rodent studies indicate developmental fructose exposure negatively impacts hippocampal structure and function.
- Human data is needed to confirm fructose's effects on the developing brain.
- Understanding sugar's impact on children's brain development is crucial for public health.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between dietary fructose intake and hippocampal volume and connectivity in children.
- To determine if observed associations are specific to fructose or general to added sugars and glucose.
- To explore potential mechanisms, such as inflammation or myelination changes, linking fructose to brain alterations.
Main Methods:
- Study included 103 children aged 7-11 years.
- Dietary intake of fructose, glucose, and added sugars was assessed as a percentage of total calories.
- Hippocampal volume and white matter connectivity (using diffusion tensor imaging) were measured.
Main Results:
- Increased dietary fructose intake correlated with enlarged right CA2/3 hippocampal subfield volume.
- Higher fructose consumption was associated with increased diffusivity in prefrontal connections of the right cingulum.
- Increased intake of glucose or added sugars generally was linked to larger right CA2/3 volume but not altered connectivity.
Conclusions:
- Dietary fructose consumption in childhood is associated with specific alterations in hippocampal structure and connectivity.
- Findings suggest fructose may influence inflammatory processes or myelination/pruning in the developing brain.
- Results align with animal data, highlighting the potential neurodevelopmental impact of high sugar intake, particularly fructose.
Abstract:
In rodent literature, there is evidence that excessive fructose consumption during development has a detrimental impact on hippocampal structure and function. In this study of 103 children ages 7-11 years old, we investigated whether dietary fructose intake was related to alterations in hippocampal volume and connectivity in humans. To examine if these associations were specific to fructose or were related to dietary sugars intake in general, we explored relationships between dietary intake of added sugars and the monosaccharide, glucose, on the same brain measures. We found that increased dietary intake of fructose, measured as a percentage of total calories, was associated with both an increase in the volume of the CA2/3 subfield of the right hippocampus and increased axial, radial, and mean diffusivity in the prefrontal connections of the right cingulum. These findings are consistent with the idea that increased fructose consumption during childhood may be associated with an inflammatory process, and/or decreases or delays in myelination and/or pruning. Increased habitual consumption of glucose or added sugar in general were associated with an increased volume of right CA2/3, but not with any changes in the connectivity of the hippocampus. These findings support animal data suggesting that higher dietary intake of added sugars, particularly fructose, are associated with alterations in hippocampal structure and connectivity during childhood.
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