MONDAY, Sept. 19, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Specific metabolites, including four sugar-related metabolites, are associated with cognitive function, according to a study published online Sept. 16 in Alzheimer’s and dementia.

Einat Granot-Hershkovitz, Ph.D., of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, and colleagues tested metabolite-cognitive function associations in 2,222 Hispanic/Latino American adults from the Community Health Study/Study of Latinos and 1,365 European and 478 African American adults from the Community Atherosclerosis Risk Study. Mendelian randomization (MR) analyzes were applied to examine the causal relationships between metabolites and cognitive function and between the Mediterranean diet and cognitive function.

The researchers found that across all studies, six metabolites were consistently associated with lower overall cognitive function. Four of these metabolites were sugar-related (eg, ribitol). Weak evidence for a potential causal effect of ribitol on cognitive function was observed in MR analyzes and for bidirectional effects of cognitive performance on diet.

“We demonstrated high validity and generalizability of several metabolite associations with global cognitive function across various races/ethnicities, particularly sugar-related metabolites,” the authors write.

One author disclosed financial ties to Metabolon.