Association between dietary exposure to chemical contaminants and risk of dementia in older persons

Background: Diet is a major route of exposure to potentially neurotoxic chemicals, yet the epidemiological association of diet contaminants with dementia is unknown. We studied the link between dietary exposure to multiple chemicals and dementia risk in older persons, considering interaction with di...

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Main Authors: Sophie Lefèvre-Arbogast, Pauline Duquenne, Catherine Helmer, Sophie Auriacombe, Véronique Sirot, Cécilia Samieri
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2024-10-01
Series:Environment International
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412024006196
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author Sophie Lefèvre-Arbogast
Pauline Duquenne
Catherine Helmer
Sophie Auriacombe
Véronique Sirot
Cécilia Samieri
author_facet Sophie Lefèvre-Arbogast
Pauline Duquenne
Catherine Helmer
Sophie Auriacombe
Véronique Sirot
Cécilia Samieri
author_sort Sophie Lefèvre-Arbogast
collection DOAJ
description Background: Diet is a major route of exposure to potentially neurotoxic chemicals, yet the epidemiological association of diet contaminants with dementia is unknown. We studied the link between dietary exposure to multiple chemicals and dementia risk in older persons, considering interaction with dietary fat content, which may modify the bioavailability and toxicity of (lipophilic) chemicals. Methods: We included 1,288 non-demented participants from the French Three-City cohort who answered a food frequency questionnaire and 24-hour recall at baseline and were followed for incident dementia. Dietary exposure to 167 contaminants was assessed by combining food intakes with food chemical content from the French second Total Diet Study. We assessed the relation of each individual contaminant with dementia risk using multivariable-adjusted Cox models, exploring effect modification by high-fat diet (>35 % energy from fat). Among high-fat diet consumers, we looked for a signature of contaminants associated with dementia using elastic-net penalization and assess their joint effect. Results: Participants were 76 years-old on average at baseline and 62 % were women. In total, 314 individuals developed dementia over a median 10 years. No contaminant was associated with dementia in the whole population. However, having a high-fat diet was a strong effect modifier for 85 contaminants (FDR-corrected p < 0.05 for interactions) in single-chemical analyses, so that higher intakes were significantly associated with higher dementia risk among high-fat consumers only (n = 386). Among them, a multi-chemical approach revealed a signature of 9 contaminants related to dementia, including 4 perfluoroalkyl substances, 2 flame retardants hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD) congeners, 2 mycotoxins, and nitrites. This selection included two top hits from the single-chemical analyses (α-HBCDD and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid [PFOS]), and was mainly provided by delicatessen meat, seafood and bread/crispbread. Conclusion: In this large population-based study, dietary exposure to several chemicals was associated with higher dementia risk among older persons consuming > 35 % energy from fat in diet.
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spelling doaj-art-bad0ef5ce62344de9203559c795a1e2d2025-08-20T02:09:47ZengElsevierEnvironment International0160-41202024-10-0119210903310.1016/j.envint.2024.109033Association between dietary exposure to chemical contaminants and risk of dementia in older personsSophie Lefèvre-Arbogast0Pauline Duquenne1Catherine Helmer2Sophie Auriacombe3Véronique Sirot4Cécilia Samieri5Univ. Bordeaux, Inserm, BPH, U1219, F-33000 Bordeaux, France; Corresponding author at: University of Bordeaux, Inserm, Bordeaux Population Health Research Center, UMR 1219, 146 rue Léo-Saignat, F-33076 Bordeaux cedex, France.Univ. Bordeaux, Inserm, BPH, U1219, F-33000 Bordeaux, FranceUniv. Bordeaux, Inserm, BPH, U1219, F-33000 Bordeaux, FranceUniv. Bordeaux, CNRS UMR 5293, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, Bordeaux, FranceANSES, Direction de l’évaluation des risques, F-94701 Maisons-Alfort, FranceUniv. Bordeaux, Inserm, BPH, U1219, F-33000 Bordeaux, FranceBackground: Diet is a major route of exposure to potentially neurotoxic chemicals, yet the epidemiological association of diet contaminants with dementia is unknown. We studied the link between dietary exposure to multiple chemicals and dementia risk in older persons, considering interaction with dietary fat content, which may modify the bioavailability and toxicity of (lipophilic) chemicals. Methods: We included 1,288 non-demented participants from the French Three-City cohort who answered a food frequency questionnaire and 24-hour recall at baseline and were followed for incident dementia. Dietary exposure to 167 contaminants was assessed by combining food intakes with food chemical content from the French second Total Diet Study. We assessed the relation of each individual contaminant with dementia risk using multivariable-adjusted Cox models, exploring effect modification by high-fat diet (>35 % energy from fat). Among high-fat diet consumers, we looked for a signature of contaminants associated with dementia using elastic-net penalization and assess their joint effect. Results: Participants were 76 years-old on average at baseline and 62 % were women. In total, 314 individuals developed dementia over a median 10 years. No contaminant was associated with dementia in the whole population. However, having a high-fat diet was a strong effect modifier for 85 contaminants (FDR-corrected p < 0.05 for interactions) in single-chemical analyses, so that higher intakes were significantly associated with higher dementia risk among high-fat consumers only (n = 386). Among them, a multi-chemical approach revealed a signature of 9 contaminants related to dementia, including 4 perfluoroalkyl substances, 2 flame retardants hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD) congeners, 2 mycotoxins, and nitrites. This selection included two top hits from the single-chemical analyses (α-HBCDD and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid [PFOS]), and was mainly provided by delicatessen meat, seafood and bread/crispbread. Conclusion: In this large population-based study, dietary exposure to several chemicals was associated with higher dementia risk among older persons consuming > 35 % energy from fat in diet.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412024006196DementiaAlzheimer’s diseaseDietary exposureEnvironmental pollutantsPersistent organic pollutantsHigh-fat diet
spellingShingle Sophie Lefèvre-Arbogast
Pauline Duquenne
Catherine Helmer
Sophie Auriacombe
Véronique Sirot
Cécilia Samieri
Association between dietary exposure to chemical contaminants and risk of dementia in older persons
Environment International
Dementia
Alzheimer’s disease
Dietary exposure
Environmental pollutants
Persistent organic pollutants
High-fat diet
title Association between dietary exposure to chemical contaminants and risk of dementia in older persons
title_full Association between dietary exposure to chemical contaminants and risk of dementia in older persons
title_fullStr Association between dietary exposure to chemical contaminants and risk of dementia in older persons
title_full_unstemmed Association between dietary exposure to chemical contaminants and risk of dementia in older persons
title_short Association between dietary exposure to chemical contaminants and risk of dementia in older persons
title_sort association between dietary exposure to chemical contaminants and risk of dementia in older persons
topic Dementia
Alzheimer’s disease
Dietary exposure
Environmental pollutants
Persistent organic pollutants
High-fat diet
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412024006196
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