Whole Egg Intake Is Associated With Brain Choline Concentrations in Older Adults

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to 1) determine whether whole egg intake influences brain choline levels in cognitively normal older adults and 2) assess the relationship between whole egg consumption and cognitive performance. Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited 60 cognitively unimpaired community dwelling individuals aged 60 or over with diverse weekly egg consumption in the Midwestern region of the US. All participants completed 7-day food records. Nutritional analysis was conducted using the Nutrition Data System for Research to confirm intakes of whole egg and dietary choline. Brain choline concentrations were measured by 1H magnetic resonance scans using a 20-channel head/neck coil at a 3 T clinical MR system. Cognitive performance was assessed using the NIH Toolbox® fully corrected T-scores, which has been adjusted for age, sex, race/ethnicity, and educational attainment. Ordinary least squares regression models were performed to analyze relations between whole egg consumption and brain choline concentrations as well as the relationship between whole egg consumption and cognitive performance. Age and sex were included as covariates to assess the relationship between whole egg consumption and brain choline concentrations. Results: A total of 57 participants were included in the analyses. Approximately 65% participants were female, and overall participants ranged in age from 60 to 85 years (age, 69.5 ± 5.7 years). Whole egg intake was positively associated with brain choline concentrations in the parietal (β = 0.29, p = 0.03) and occipital regions (β = 0.38, p < 0.01) without adjusting for age and sex. Age was inversely associated with whole egg consumption (β = -0.29, p = 0.03). After adjusting for age and sex, higher whole egg intake was significantly associated with higher brain choline concentrations in the occipital region (β = 0.27, p = 0.04). No associations were observed between whole egg intake and cognitive performance scores. Conclusions: Greater whole egg consumption was associated with higher brain choline concentration in older adults. Ensuring adequate consumption of dietary choline (i.e., by the incorporation of whole eggs) may be significant to maintain adequate brain choline concentrations, in particular, for the aging population. Funding Sources: This study was supported by American Egg Board's Egg Nutrition Center.