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Dietary Intervention in Infancy and Cognitive Function in Young Adulthood: The Special Turku Coronary Risk Factor
Suvi P Rovio1, Henri Salo1, Harri Niinikoski2
1Research Centre of Applied and Preventive Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; Centre for Population Health Research, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland.
Insights
A childhood heart-healthy diet intervention improved cognitive flexibility and inhibitory control in young adults. Specific dietary components like saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids did not show direct associations with these cognitive improvements.
Area of Science:
- Nutritional Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Public Health Interventions
Background:
- Dietary factors including saturated fatty acids (SAFAs), polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), cholesterol, and fiber are linked to adult cognitive function.
- The Special Turku Coronary Risk Factor Intervention Project (STRIP) offers a unique dataset to examine these associations from childhood into young adulthood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the long-term effects of a childhood heart-healthy diet intervention on cognitive function.
- To investigate the associations between specific dietary components (SAFAs, PUFAs, cholesterol, fiber) and cognitive domains in young adults.
Main Methods:
- The STRIP study involved random assignment of children to an intervention group receiving heart-healthy diet counseling or a control group.
- Dietary intake was assessed repeatedly using food diaries from infancy through age 20 years.
- Cognitive function, including learning, memory, processing speed, and executive functions, was assessed at age 26 years.
Main Results:
- Participants in the intervention group demonstrated enhanced cognitive flexibility and inhibitory control compared to the control group (0.18 SD higher).
- No significant associations were found between the consumption of specific dietary components (SAFAs, PUFAs, cholesterol, fiber) and the measured cognitive outcomes.
- The observed cognitive benefits were not directly attributable to the intervention's specific targets regarding these macronutrients and fiber.
Conclusions:
- An infancy-onset intervention promoting a heart-healthy diet is favorably associated with cognitive flexibility and inhibitory control in young adulthood.
- The positive impact of the intervention on executive functions may be mediated by factors other than the specific dietary components studied.
- These findings highlight the potential long-term benefits of early-life dietary interventions on cognitive development.
Objective:
Consumption of saturated fatty acids (SAFAs), polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), cholesterol, and fiber have been linked with cognitive function in adults. We evaluated these associations from childhood by leveraging data from the Special Turku Coronary Risk Factor Intervention Project (STRIP).
Study Design:
STRIP recruited children aged 5 months and randomly assigned them into intervention/control groups. The intervention introduced a heart-healthy diet, characterized mainly by low consumption of SAFAs and cholesterol, through counseling at least biannually between age 7 months and 20 years. Diet was assessed repeatedly using food diaries. Six years after the end of the intervention phase, at age 26 years, the participants were invited to the first postintervention follow-up, which included cognitive testing that covered learning and memory, verbal memory, short-term working memory, reaction time, information processing, and cognitive flexibility and inhibitory control. We studied the associations of the STRIP intervention and the consumptions of SAFAs, PUFAs, cholesterol, and fiber within these cognitive domains.
Results:
Participants in the STRIP intervention group had better cognitive flexibility and inhibitory control and were better able to manage conflicting information and ignore task-irrelevant information (0.18 SD higher in the intervention group, adjusted for sex and socioeconomic status). No associations were observed with the dietary components studied.
Conclusions:
The infancy-onset STRIP intervention, which promoted a heart-healthy diet, was favorably associated with cognitive flexibility and inhibitory control at age 26 years. No associations were found for the intervention targets studied, indicating that these specific dietary components did not underlie the observed effect of the intervention.
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