TY - JOUR

T1 - Associations of Midlife Dietary Patterns with Incident Dementia and Brain Structure

T2 - Findings from the UK Biobank Study

AU - Zhang, Jingyun

AU - Cao, Xingqi

AU - Li, Xin

AU - Li, Xueqin

AU - Hao, Meng

AU - Xia, Yang

AU - Huang, Huiqian

AU - Jørgensen, Terese Sara Høj

AU - Agogo, George O

AU - Wang, Liang

AU - Zhang, Xuehong

AU - Gao, Xiang

AU - Liu, Zuyun

N1 - Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier Inc.

PY - 2023

Y1 - 2023

N2 - BACKGROUND: At present, the results on the associations between dietary patterns and the risk of dementia are inconsistent, and studies on the associations between dietary patterns and brain structures are limited.OBJECTIVE: We aimed to investigate the associations of midlife dietary patterns with incident dementia and brain structures.METHODS: Based on the UK Biobank Study, we investigated the 1) prospective associations of four healthy dietary pattern indices (healthy plant-based diet index [hPDI], Mediterranean diet score [MDS], Recommended food score [RFS], and Mediterranean-Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension Intervention [DASH] Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay Diet [MIND]) with incident dementia (identified using linked hospital data; N = 114,684; mean age, 56.8 years; 55.5% females) using Cox proportional-hazards regressions and the 2) cross-sectional associations of these dietary pattern indices with brain structures (estimated using magnetic resonance imaging; N = 18,214; mean age, 55.9 years; 53.1% females) using linear regressions. A series of covariates were adjusted, and several sensitivity analyses were conducted.RESULTS: A total of 481 (0.42%) participants developed dementia during the average 9.4-year follow-up. Although the associations were not statistically significant, all dietary patterns exerted protective effects against incident dementia (all hazard ratios < 1). Furthermore, higher dietary pattern indices were significantly associated with larger regional brain volumes, including volumes of gray matter in the parietal and temporal cortices and volumes of the hippocampus and thalamus. The main results were confirmed via sensitivity analyses.CONCLUSIONS: Greater adherence to hPDI, MDS, RFS, and MIND was individually associated with larger brain volumes in specific regions. This study shows a comprehensive picture of the consistent associations of midlife dietary patterns with the risk of dementia and brain health, underscoring the potential benefits of a healthy diet in the prevention of dementia.

AB - BACKGROUND: At present, the results on the associations between dietary patterns and the risk of dementia are inconsistent, and studies on the associations between dietary patterns and brain structures are limited.OBJECTIVE: We aimed to investigate the associations of midlife dietary patterns with incident dementia and brain structures.METHODS: Based on the UK Biobank Study, we investigated the 1) prospective associations of four healthy dietary pattern indices (healthy plant-based diet index [hPDI], Mediterranean diet score [MDS], Recommended food score [RFS], and Mediterranean-Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension Intervention [DASH] Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay Diet [MIND]) with incident dementia (identified using linked hospital data; N = 114,684; mean age, 56.8 years; 55.5% females) using Cox proportional-hazards regressions and the 2) cross-sectional associations of these dietary pattern indices with brain structures (estimated using magnetic resonance imaging; N = 18,214; mean age, 55.9 years; 53.1% females) using linear regressions. A series of covariates were adjusted, and several sensitivity analyses were conducted.RESULTS: A total of 481 (0.42%) participants developed dementia during the average 9.4-year follow-up. Although the associations were not statistically significant, all dietary patterns exerted protective effects against incident dementia (all hazard ratios < 1). Furthermore, higher dietary pattern indices were significantly associated with larger regional brain volumes, including volumes of gray matter in the parietal and temporal cortices and volumes of the hippocampus and thalamus. The main results were confirmed via sensitivity analyses.CONCLUSIONS: Greater adherence to hPDI, MDS, RFS, and MIND was individually associated with larger brain volumes in specific regions. This study shows a comprehensive picture of the consistent associations of midlife dietary patterns with the risk of dementia and brain health, underscoring the potential benefits of a healthy diet in the prevention of dementia.

U2 - 10.1016/j.ajcnut.2023.05.007

DO - 10.1016/j.ajcnut.2023.05.007

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 37150507

VL - 118

SP - 218

EP - 227

JO - American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

JF - American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

SN - 0002-9165

IS - 1

ER -