Valeria A. López-Sebastiani
Universidad Le Cordon Bleu. Lima, Perú
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0945-6760
María F. Chávez-Infantes
Universidad Le Cordon Bleu. Lima, Perú
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8755-1523
Victor J. Samillan
Universidad Le Cordon Bleu. Lima,
Perú
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1258-2856
Recibido: 12/02/2024 Revisado: 23/03/2024 Aceptado: 10/04/2024 Publicado: 30/06/2024
The systematic review was carried out using the
PRISMA methodology and focused on the search for scientific articles in which
the effects of omega-3 or creatine supplementation in adults over 60 years of
age and its effect on cognitive function had been investigated. The search
criteria were supplementation, omega 3, creatine, older adults, memory,
function and cognitive impairment. The exclusion criteria were athletes and
people under 60 years of age. Articles from PubMed, ScienceDirect and SciELO
were included. 223 articles were found investigating the effect of omega-3
supplementation and 25 articles on creatine supplementation, of which 29 and 3
were selected that met the inclusion and exclusion criteria respectively for
each group. Concluding that adequate consumption of sources of omega 3 and
creatine has a preventive benefit against memory conditions and cognitive
deterioration related to aging, since it intervenes in the structure and
function of the brain. These findings highlight the importance of a balanced
diet and the possible usefulness of supplements in maintaining cognitive health
in the older adult population.
Keywords:
Cupplementation, creatine, omega 3, older adult, memory, cognitive function and
impairment.
RESUMEN
La revisión sistemática se realizó
utilizando la metodología PRISMA y se centró en la búsqueda de artículos
científicos en los cuales se había investigado los efectos de la suplementación
con omega 3 o creatina en adultos mayores de 60 años y su efecto en la función
cognitiva. Los criterios de búsqueda fueron suplementación, omega 3, creatina,
adultos mayores, memoria, función y deterioro cognitivos. Los criterios de
exclusión fueron deportistas y personas menores de 60 años. Se incluyeron
artículos de PubMed, ScienceDirect y SciELO. Se encontraron 223 artículos en
donde se investigaba el efecto de la suplementación con omega 3 y 25 artículos
sobre la suplementación con creatina, de los cuales se seleccionaron 29 y 3 que
cumplieron con los criterios de inclusión y exclusión respectivamente de cada
grupo. Concluyendo que el consumo adecuado de fuentes de omega 3 y creatina
tiene un beneficio preventivo contra afecciones en la memoria y el deterioro
cognitivo relacionados con el envejecimiento, puesto que, interviene en la
estructura y función del cerebro. Estos hallazgos resaltan la importancia de
una dieta equilibrada y la posible utilidad de los suplementos en el
mantenimiento de la salud cognitiva en la población adulta mayor.
Palabras clave: Suplementación, creatina, omega 3, adulto mayor, memoria,
función y deterioro cognitivos.
Introduction
Currently, non-communicable diseases are the
leading cause of death among people over 60 years of age. These chronic
diseases are associated with modifiable, metabolic and environmental risk
factors. Regarding modifiable risk factors, they include behaviors such as an
unhealthy diet, lack of physical activity, tobacco and alcohol consumption,
among others (WHO, 2023).
During the aging process, cognitive symptoms
appear, such as a decrease in information retention and memory attention
(Camargo and Laguado, 2017). Older people aspire to healthy aging and look for
options that contribute to healthy aging, such as the consumption of
nutritional supplements. These products have gained relevance among the
population and are defined as substances that provide nutrients to address or
reduce health problems. , although they should never replace a balanced diet.
Supplements can come in various forms, such as powders, tablets, gels, liquids,
and pills, and may contain vitamins, fiber, minerals, amino acids, enzymes,
among others (National Institute on Aging, 2017).
One of the commonly consumed supplements is
omega 3, a polyunsaturated fatty acid that plays a crucial role in various
brain structures, such as the phospholipid membrane, the myelin sheath,
synaptosomes and neurotransmitters. Due to these functions, its consumption
could benefit the memory and cognition, especially in individuals with
deficient dietary intake of omega 3 (Martínez et al., 2018).
In older adults, a decrease in creatine levels
in the brain has been observed. Creatine is related to cognitive performance
due to its bioenergetic function at the brain level. Therefore, creatine
supplementation could be beneficial at this stage of development. life (Narrea
and Ramos, 2022).
This systematic review focused on nutritional
supplementation with omega 3 or creatine in older adults and its impact on
cognitive function. This topic is relevant due to the biological, psychological
and biochemical changes associated with aging, with changes in memory being one
of the most notable aspects that can be seen in older adults, although several
studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of omega 3 or creatine on memory
and cognitive function, few have focused specifically on the effect of this
supplementation in older adults.
Materials and methods
The methodology used in this systematic review
was based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and
Meta-Analyses (PRISMA), in its most recent version from 2020. The search for the
information was obtained through the metasearch engines PubMed, ScienceDirect
and SciELO, using the keywords, and "AND" was also used as a Boolean
operator. The search equations were written as follows:
1.supplementation" AND "omega 3"
AND "older adult" AND "memory" AND "cognitive
function"
2."supplementation" AND "omega
3" AND "older adult" AND "cognitive function"
3."supplementation" AND "omega
3" AND "older adult" AND "memory" AND "cognitive
function" AND "cognitive impairment"
4. “supplementation” AND “creatine” AND “older
adult” AND “memory” AND “cognitive function”
5."supplementation" AND
"creatine" AND "older adult" AND "cognitive
function"
6."supplementation" AND
"creatine" AND "older adult" AND "memory" AND
"cognitive function" AND "cognitive impairment"
7."supplementation" AND
"creatine" AND "older adult" AND "memory" AND
"cognitive function" AND "cognitive impairment"
Older adults: Studies that included people over
60 years of age were selected, since it is known that memory and cognitive
function tend to deteriorate with age. We searched for studies that
investigated the effect of supplements on the prevention, delay and improvement
of cognitive performance in this age group.
Creatine or omega 3 supplementation: Studies
specifically addressing creatine or omega 3 supplementation in older adults
were included.
Cognitive function, memory and cognitive
decline: Studies addressing these topics were included, as the focus was on the
use of supplements to improve cognitive function and memory, and delay
cognitive decline.
Indexed journals: Only articles from indexed
journals were included, since these have undergone peer review.
Exclusion criteria:
Athletes: Studies that focused on athletes were
excluded, as the use of nutritional supplements is common in this population
and could bias the results.
People under 60 years of age: Studies that
included people under 60 years of age were excluded, as they specifically
sought to investigate the effect of supplements on older adults.
Articles published before 2017: All articles
published before 2017 were excluded, since a time range from that year to 2024
was established for the search for studies.
Results and discussion
Once the search equation was applied for both
omega 3 and creatine, the results presented in Table 1 and Table 2 were
obtained. In the case of Omega 3, 223 articles were obtained, of which only 29
were included. in the systematic review. For creatine, a total of 25
investigations were found, of which 3 were included in the systematic review.
The databases used contain effective search algorithms and filters that were
useful in obtaining research that was in accordance with the inclusion and exclusion
criteria.
In addition, the publications identified for
both groups were subjected to a second filter, where all those that did not aim
to analyze the relationship between omega 3 or creatine supplementation in
adults over 60 years of age and its effect on cognitive level were discarded.
Table 1. Article search results for omega
|
Metasearch engines |
Publications identified |
Publications selected |
|
PubMed |
164 |
25 |
|
SciELO |
5 |
1 |
|
ScienceDirect |
54 |
3 |
|
Total |
223 |
29 |
Table 2. Search results for creatine
|
Metasearch engines |
Publications identified |
Publications selected |
|
PubMed |
14 |
3 |
|
SciELO |
1 |
0 |
|
ScienceDirect |
10 |
0 |
|
Total |
25 |
3 |
Only those investigations published between
2017 and 2024 were included in the review (Table 3). In the last 8 years, a
growing demand has been evident regarding the consumption of nutritional
supplements in the population, for example, for omega 3, the year with the most
publications was 2020, which can be attributed to the launch of the program in
2019. "iSupport for Dementia" from the World Health Organization,
aimed at caregivers of people with dementia (WHO, 2019), which mentions the use
of nutritional supplements that could help improve cognitive function, due to
this it increased the interest of researchers in carrying out studies of
nutrients that preventively influence neurological conditions. On the other
hand, publications on the use of creatine in older adults are scarce, perhaps
because its use is more common in sports and in young people.
Table 3. Research published per year
|
Years |
Publications for Omega 3 |
Publications for creatine |
|
2017 |
4 |
0 |
|
2018 |
6 |
0 |
|
2019 |
3 |
0 |
|
2020 |
7 |
0 |
|
2021 |
2 |
1 |
|
2022 |
4 |
0 |
|
2023 |
3 |
2 |
|
2024 |
0 |
0 |
|
Total |
25 |
3 |
Omega 3 and brain health
The aging of the world's population has
generated increasing interest in understanding the causes of cognitive decline
and in finding effective interventions to preserve brain function in older
adults. Among the various strategies that are under research, supplementation
with omega-3 fatty acids has emerged as a promising line of study.
Polyunsaturated fatty acids play an important
role in reducing oxidative stress and cognitive decline in older adults,
providing additional evidence of the cognitive benefits of omega-3
supplementation, highlighting improvements in memory, cognitive function,
verbal fluency, and performance. cognitive (Reddan et al., 2019; Liu et
al., 2022; Nolan et al., 2018; Ogawa et al., 2023 and Patan et
al., 2021).
Finally, the use of omega 3 is widespread in
the population, however, it is necessary that a greater number of clinical
trials be carried out to fully understand the mechanisms and long-term effects
of the use of this supplement (Knöchel et al., 2017).
Creatine and brain health
Regarding the use of creatine, in older adults
it is proposed that it has a crucial role in the bioenergetics of the brain,
since it increases the levels of phosphocreatine and ATP. It was also observed
that a greater intake of creatine was positively related to visuospatial
memory. short-term in older adults, which was demonstrated by higher scores in
the forward and reverse Corsi block test, which evaluates short-term
visuospatial memory. In addition, magnetic resonance imaging was performed on
patients who consumed creatine, demonstrating a significant increase in levels.
of creatine in the brain and muscle, which is associated with cognitive
improvement in older adults (Oliveira et al., 2023; Prokopidis et al.,
2023 and Seper et al., 2021).
Conclusions
Regarding Omega 3, a consensus has been reached
on the potential benefits of supplementation and its effect on cognitive
function, especially in older adults and people with mild cognitive impairment.
These findings support the idea that polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as DHA
and EPA play a crucial role in brain health and may be important in preventing
or delaying cognitive decline.
There is scientific evidence which indicates
that creatine plays a fundamental role in the brain and supplementation is
beneficial for cognitive function, this is because it offers the energy that
the brain needs for proper functioning.
Adequate consumption of sources of omega 3 and
creatine has a preventive benefit against memory conditions and cognitive
deterioration related to aging, since it intervenes in the structure and
function of the brain. These findings highlight the importance of a balanced
diet and the possible usefulness of supplements in maintaining cognitive health
in the older adult population.
BIBLIOGRAPHIC
REFERENCES