NEW YORK, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- People with higher levels of the nutrient folate via diet and supplements may have a reduced risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, says a U.S. study.
Columbia University Medical Center researchers examined, interviewed and assessed the diets of 965 individuals without dementia between 1992 and 1994 and then followed them for an average of 6.1 years to see if they developed Alzheimer's disease.
The participants had an average age of 75.8; 70.2 percent were women, 32.6 percent African-American, 45.3 percent Hispanic and 22.1 percent white.
During the follow-up period 192 of the participants developed Alzheimer's disease. Neither dietary folate nor supplements alone was significantly linked to Alzheimer's disease risk; only the two in combination appeared to produce an effect, according to study leader Jose A. Luchsinger.
Higher folate intake was modestly correlated with lower homocysteine levels, "indirectly suggesting that a lower homocysteine level is a potential mechanism for the association between higher folate intake and a lower Alzheimer's disease risk," the authors write in the Archives of Neurology.
