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Good dietary practices may reduce Alzheimer’s risk in old age

Practicing healthy eating habits can improve cognitive function and reduce the risk for dementia later in life, according to data from four large population-based studies presented at the 2017 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference.

“Although the idea that a healthy diet can help protect against cognitive decline as we age is not new, the size and length of these four studies demonstrate how powerful good dietary practices may be in maintaining brain health and function,” Keith Fargo, PhD, director of scientific programs and outreach at the Alzheimer’s Association, said in an accompanying press release.

Claire McEvoy, PhD, from the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues assessed 5,907 older adults from the nationally representative Health and Retirement Study to determine the association between cognitive performance and adherence to the Mediterranean and Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegeneration Delay (MIND) diets. Analysis showed that the healthier people ate, the better their cognitive function. Greater adherence to the Mediterranean and MIND diet was associated with a 30% to 35% lower risk for cognitive impairment. Participants adhering to either diet who had higher scores were significantly less likely to have poor cognitive performance compared with those who has low scores for both diets (Mediterranean diet middle score [P = .03], high score [P < .001]; MIND diet middle score [P = .03], high score [P < .001]).

To determine the cognitive benefits associated with a healthy Nordic diet, Weili Xu, MD, PhD, from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, and colleagues examined 2,223 adults without dementia in Sweden. After 6 years of follow-up, the researchers found that higher adherence to the Nordic Prudent Dietary Pattern (NPDP), a diet consisting of reduced consumption of root vegetables, refined grains, butter, sugar and fruit juice, resulted in better cognitive function than participants who ate an unhealthier diet. When compared with the MIND, Mediterranean, DASH and Baltic Sea diets, NPDP was a better predictor of preserved cognitive performance in this population.

In their study, Kathleen Hayden, PhD, from Wake Forest School of Medicine, and colleagues focused on the association between the MIND diet and dementia risk in postmenopausal women enrolled in the Women’s Health Initiative Memory Study. They categorized participants into four groups based on level of adherence. Out of 615 incident cases of Alzheimer’s disease found over an average of 9.7 years of follow-up, participants with stricter adherence to the MIND diet had a lower risk for probable dementia. Compared with the first group, which had the lowest MIND scores, those in the second, third and fourth (who had the highest MIND scores) groups had 24%, 21% and 34% reductions, respectively, in the risk for Alzheimer’s disease.

Researchers from Columbia University, led by Yian Gu, PhD, examined the connection between inflammation-related nutrient pattern (INP), and cognitive function and structural MRI findings in the brain using data on 330 elderly adults without dementia. INP characterized by high intake of cholesterol, beta-carotene and lutein, and low intake of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, calcium, folate and vitamins was positively linked to levels of inflammatory biomarkers. Closer adherence to this INP correlated with smaller total brain gray matter volume and worsened executive function performative.

“We must understand that what we eat is just one part of the puzzle,” Fargo said. “Adapting our lifestyle as we get older — for example by exercising regularly, watching what we eat and engaging in lifelong learning — is important in order to maximize the potential to reduce risk of cognitive decline and dementia.” – by Savannah Demko

References:

Gu Y, et al. Abstract 18455.

Hayden KM, et al. Abstract 14932.

McEvoy CT, et al. Abstract 16094.

Xu W, et al. Abstract 17109.

All presented at: Alzheimer’s Association International Conference; July 16-20, 2017; London.

Disclosures: Healio Family Medicine was unable to confirm any relevant financial disclosures at the time of publication.