Tier 3 — preclinical

Non-linear association between serum spermidine and mild cognitive impairment: Results from a cross-sectional and longitudinal study

Jiahui Xu, Zhaoqing Sun, Rui Zhang, Ruixue Li, Zhecong Yu, Qianlong Zhang, Yanan Ma, Fuguo Xing, Liqiang Zheng

Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience 2022 14:924984

Bibliography

PubMed: PMID 35983378
PubMed Central: PMC9380894
DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2022.924984
Funding: Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the National Key R&D Program of China, and the 345 Talent Project of Shengjing Hospital.
Competing interests: Authors reported no commercial or financial conflicts of interest.

Study snapshot

Design	Cross-sectional and longitudinal observational cohort
Model	Community-dwelling adults in rural China
Sample	3,774 at baseline, with longitudinal follow-up subset
Intervention	No intervention; serum spermidine measured
Duration	Approximately 2 years longitudinal follow-up
Endpoints	Serum spermidine; Mild cognitive impairment; Longitudinal incident/persistent MCI

What the study showed, in plain terms

In a large Chinese cohort, serum spermidine showed a non-linear relationship with mild cognitive impairment. Moderate-to-higher serum levels were associated with lower odds of MCI, including a longitudinal signal during follow-up.

Key findings

The third serum-spermidine tertile showed a longitudinal odds ratio around 0.62 for MCI versus the lowest tertile. The relationship was non-linear and should not be interpreted as a target blood level for supplementation.

What this study can and cannot tell us

Observational biomarker study, potential residual confounding, serum concentration may reflect endogenous metabolism rather than intake, and MCI ascertainment differs from dementia diagnosis or clinical treatment response.

Editorial review

Reviewed by the Biohack Blueprint research team

Khaled Mahmoud