journal articles
HEALTHY DIETARY PATTERNS IN RELATION TO COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE AND ALZHEIMER\'S DISEASE MORTALITY
Yiying Gong, Hui Chen, Yuxuan Gu, Jie Shen, Ting Shen, Yihong Ding, Mengxi Lu, Liyan Huang, Minqing Yan, Peige Song, Yajie Zhu, Shuang Rong, Changzheng Yuan
BACKGROUND: Dietary factors play a major role in cognitive aging, but few studies have assessed and compared the associations between specific dietary patterns and Alzheimer's disease (AD) mortality.
METHODS: We included 27,773 U.S. participants (mean age = 59.8 years, 51.4 % female) from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) between 1998 and 2016, with follow-up for AD mortality until December 2019. Five dietary pattern scores were calculated utilizing one (1999–2002) or two repeated (2003–2016) 24hr dietary recalls, including the Healthy Eating Index (HEI-2015), the healthful plant-based diet index (hPDI), the alternate Mediterranean diet (aMED), the Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension diet (DASH), and the Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegeneration Delay diet (MIND) scores. We utilized Cox proportional hazard models to evaluate the associations of these dietary pattern scores with AD mortality.
RESULTS: A total of 260 AD deaths occurred during a median follow-up of 9.8 years. Higher aMED score was associated with a lower risk of AD mortality (HRT3 vs T1: 0.72, 95 % CI, 0.52–1.00, p-trend = 0.041). In a sub-sample of 2,713 participants in NHANES 2011-2014, 432 individuals had prevalent psychometric mild cognitive impairment (p-MCI). Higher aMED, MIND, HEI-2015, and hPDI were associated with lower odds of p-MCI. The potential contributors to these associations included higher intake levels of vegetables and nuts, moderate alcohol consumption, and lower intake level of sweets.
CONCLUSIONS: The Mediterranean dietary pattern was associated with more favorable cognitive outcomes among middle-aged and older adults, underscoring the importance of a healthy diet for long-term benefits in cognitive and brain health.
CITATION:
Yiying Gong ; Hui Chen ; Yuxuan Gu ; Jie Shen ; Ting Shen ; Yihong Ding ; Mengxi Lu ; Liyan Huang ; Minqing Yan ; Peige Song ; Yajie Zhu ; Shuang Rong ; Changzheng Yuan (2025): Healthy dietary patterns in relation to cognitive performance and Alzheimer's disease mortality. The Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease (JPAD). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tjpad.2025.100100