Tier 4 — mechanistic

Plasma free choline, betaine and cognitive performance: the Hordaland Health Study

Eha Nurk, Helga Refsum, Ingvar Bjelland, Christian A Drevon, Grethe S Tell, Per M Ueland, Stein E Vollset, Knut Engedal, Harald A Nygaard, David A Smith
The British journal of nutrition 2013 109(3):511-519

Bibliography

PubMed
PMID 22717142
DOI
10.1017/S0007114512001249
Funding
Funding was not specified in the indexed record or accessible funding metadata.
Competing interests
A competing-interest declaration was not available in the indexed record or accessible disclosure metadata.

Study snapshot

DesignCross-sectional study
ModelHuman participants
Sample2195 adults aged 70-74
InterventionMeasured betaine status and related metabolites; no randomized TMG treatment
DurationSingle cognitive and biomarker assessment
EndpointsCognitive performance; B12 interaction

What the study showed, in plain terms

Published in 2013, this source examined human observational and biomarker research. Design: Cross-sectional study. Sample/model: 2195 adults aged 70-74. The exposure or intervention was Measured betaine status and related metabolites; no randomized TMG treatment. Follow-up or treatment period: Single cognitive and biomarker assessment.

The clearest cognitive association concerned choline; low betaine combined with high methylmalonic acid was associated with poorer performance on one memory measure.

Observational exposure analysis: residual confounding and reverse causation remain possible. Associations do not establish that betaine supplementation causes the same outcome.

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Key findings

  • The clearest cognitive association concerned choline; low betaine combined with high methylmalonic acid was associated with poorer performance on one memory measure.
  • The recorded outcome domains were Cognitive performance; B12 interaction.
  • The exposure was observed rather than assigned as an isolated supplement treatment.

What this study can and cannot tell us

  • Observational exposure analysis: residual confounding and reverse causation remain possible. Associations do not establish that betaine supplementation causes the same outcome.
  • Confounding, dietary patterns, illness, medication use and reverse causation can influence an association. Blood or dietary concentrations do not identify the effect of starting a capsule.
  • Source basis: Indexed abstract and bibliographic data. Missing method details, funding information or participant denominators are not inferred.

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Dr. Khaled Mahmoud, MBBChCritical Care Medicine, Longevity Science & Editorial Direction Dr. Amr Yasser, PhDCardiometabolic, Musculoskeletal, Gut & Bioavailability Dr. Abdulla Mostafa, PhDCellular Senescence, Neurological, Mitochondrial & Brain-Ageing Biology