AJM Theme Issue: GI and Nutrition
Clinical research study
Fruit and Vegetable Juices and Alzheimer’s Disease: The Kame Project

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjmed.2006.03.045Get rights and content

Abstract

Background

Growing evidence suggests that oxidative damage caused by the β-amyloid peptide in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease may be hydrogen peroxide mediated. Many polyphenols, the most abundant dietary antioxidants, possess stronger neuroprotection against hydrogen peroxide than antioxidant vitamins.

Methods

We tested whether consumption of fruit and vegetable juices, containing a high concentration of polyphenols, decreases the risk of incident probable Alzheimer’s disease in the Kame Project cohort, a population-based prospective study of 1836 Japanese Americans in King County, Washington, who were dementia-free at baseline (1992-1994) and were followed through 2001.

Results

After adjustment for potential confounders, the hazard ratio for probable Alzheimer’s disease was 0.24 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.09-0.61) comparing subjects who drank juices at least 3 times per week with those who drank less often than once per week with a hazard ratio of 0.84 (95% CI, 0.31-2.29) for those drinking juices 1 to 2 times per week (P for trend < .01). This inverse association tended to be more pronounced among those with an apolipoprotein Eε-4 allele and those who were not physically active. Conversely, no association was observed for dietary intake of vitamins E, C, or β-carotene or tea consumption.

Conclusions

Fruit and vegetable juices may play an important role in delaying the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, particularly among those who are at high risk for the disease. These results may lead to a new avenue of inquiry in the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease.

Section snippets

The Kame Cohort

Data for the current analysis were derived from the Kame Project, a large population-based prospective study of Japanese Americans in King County, Washington, who were followed from 1992 to 2001, as part of the Ni-Hon-Sea Project, a cross-cultural study of prevalence and incidence rates of Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia among Japanese populations living in Hiroshima, Japan; Oahu, Hawaii; and the metropolitan area of Seattle, Washington.27, 28

A cohort of 3045 eligible individuals aged

Results

The sample with dietary information (n = 1589) had a mean age at enrollment of 71.8 years; 54.4% were women; 6.5% of subjects drank sake or wine at least once per week; more than 80% of subjects drank tea at least once per week; 65% drank fruit or vegetable juices at least once per week; and 19.9% of subjects possessed one or more ApoE ε-4 alleles. Overall, the analyzed sample was comparable to the whole cohort who were dementia-free (n = 1836) by age, gender, baseline CASI scores, education,

Discussion

In this prospective study conducted among Japanese Americans living in King County, Washington, we found that frequent drinking of fruit and vegetable juices was associated with a substantially decreased risk of Alzheimer’s disease. This inverse association was stronger after adjustments for potential confounding factors, and the association was evident in all strata of selected variables. These findings are new and suggest that fruit and vegetable juices may play an important role in delaying

Acknowledgments

We thank Drs. James D. Bowen, Wayne C. McCormick, Susan M. McCurry, and Madeline M. Rice for their assistance in clinical classification and study management.

References (74)

  • A.R. Borenstein et al.

    Developmental and vascular risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease

    Neurobiol Aging

    (2005)
  • C. Opazo et al.

    Metalloenzyme-like activity of Alzheimer’s disease beta-amyloidCu-dependent catalytic conversion of dopamine, cholesterol, and biological reducing agents to neurotoxic H(2)O(2)

    J Biol Chem

    (2002)
  • C. Behl et al.

    Hydrogen peroxide mediates amyloid beta protein toxicity

    Cell

    (1994)
  • K.A. Youdim et al.

    Flavonoid permeability across an in situ model of the blood-brain barrier

    Free Radic Biol Med

    (2004)
  • K. Ishige et al.

    Flavonoids protect neuronal cells from oxidative stress by three distinct mechanisms

    Free Radic Biol Med

    (2001)
  • J.M. Hodgson et al.

    Regular ingestion of tea does not inhibit in vivo lipid peroxidation in humans

    J Nutr

    (2002)
  • J.D. O’Reilly et al.

    Consumption of flavonoids in onions and black tea: lack of effect on F2-isoprostanes and autoantibodies to oxidized LDL in healthy humans

    Am J Clin Nutr

    (2001)
  • C. Sanchez-Moreno et al.

    High-pressurized orange juice consumption affects plasma vitamin C, antioxidative status and inflammatory markers in healthy humans

    J Nutr

    (2003)
  • K. Honda et al.

    Oxidative stress and redox-active iron in Alzheimer’s disease

    Ann N Y Acad Sci

    (2004)
  • R.C. Petersen et al.

    Vitamin E and donepezil for the treatment of mild cognitive impairment

    N Engl J Med

    (2005)
  • J.A. Luchsinger et al.

    Antioxidant vitamin intake and risk of Alzheimer disease

    Arch Neurol

    (2003)
  • M.C. Morris et al.

    Vitamin E and vitamin C supplement use and risk of incident Alzheimer disease

    Alzheimer Dis Assoc Disord

    (1998)
  • P.P. Zandi et al.

    Reduced risk of Alzheimer disease in users of antioxidant vitamin supplements: the Cache County Study

    Arch Neurol

    (2004)
  • M.J. Engelhart et al.

    Dietary intake of antioxidants and risk of Alzheimer disease

    JAMA

    (2002)
  • M.C. Morris et al.

    Dietary intake of antioxidant nutrients and the risk of incident Alzheimer disease in a biracial community study

    JAMA

    (2002)
  • B.P. Bates et al.

    Principles and Practices of Small- and Medium- Scale Fruit Processing

    (2001)
  • R. Bazemore et al.

    Linalool in orange juice: origin and thermal stability

    J Agric Food Chem

    (2003)
  • J. Lindsay et al.

    Risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease: a prospective analysis from the Canadian Study of Health and Aging

    Am J Epidemiol

    (2002)
  • D.P. Forster et al.

    Risk factors in clinically diagnosed presenile dementia of the Alzheimer type: a case-control study in northern England

    J Epidemiol Community Health

    (1995)
  • M.A. Rogers et al.

    A preliminary study of dietary aluminium intake and risk of Alzheimer’s disease

    Age Ageing

    (1999)
  • D. Laurin et al.

    Midlife dietary intake of antioxidants and risk of late-life incident dementia: the Honolulu-Asia Aging Study

    Am J Epidemiol

    (2004)
  • A. Lugasi et al.

    Antioxidant properties of commercial alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages

    Nahrung

    (2003)
  • C. Manach et al.

    Bioavailability in humans of the flavanones hesperidin and narirutin after the ingestion of two doses of orange juice

    Eur J Clin Nutr

    (2003)
  • J.A. Vinson et al.

    Polyphenol antioxidants in citrus juices: in vitro and in vivo studies relevant to heart disease

    Adv Exp Med Biol

    (2002)
  • H.J. Heo et al.

    Protective effects of quercetin and vitamin C against oxidative stress-induced neurodegeneration

    J Agric Food Chem

    (2004)
  • H.J. Heo et al.

    Effect of antioxidant flavanone, naringenin, from Citrus junoson neuroprotection

    J Agric Food Chem

    (2004)
  • T. Nakayama et al.

    Suppression of active oxygen-induced cytotoxicity by flavonoids

    Biochem Pharmacol

    (1993)

    • Cited by (0)

    This research was supported by the National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Aging grants R01 AG09769 and UO1 AG06781.

    View full text
    Copyright © 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.