Adherence to MIND Diet, Genetic Susceptibility, and Incident Dementia in Three US Cohorts.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to determine whether adherence to the MIND diet (a hybrid of Mediterranean and DASH diets) could modify the association of genetic risk for Alzheimer’s Dementia (AD) with incident dementia and cognitive decline.
Results Summary
Higher adherence to the MIND diet and lower genetic risk scores were associated with a lower risk of dementia in two cohorts (MAP and WHIMS) and slower cognitive decline in one cohort (MAP), but no associations were found in the third cohort (CHAP). No gene-diet interactions were consistently replicated across cohorts.
Population
Older US men and women from three cohorts: Chicago Health and Aging Project (CHAP, n = 2449), Rush Memory and Aging Project (MAP, n = 725), and Women’s Health Initiative Memory Study (WHIMS, n = 5308).
Effective Dosage
Not specified
Duration
Not specified
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adherence to Mediterranean-DASH Diet Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) | decrease | risk of dementia | - | - | may lower | #1 |
Adherence to Mediterranean-DASH Diet Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) | decrease | dementia | older US men and women in MAP and WHIMS | - | associated with a lower risk | #2 |
Adherence to Mediterranean-DASH Diet Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) | decrease | cognitive decline | older US men and women in MAP | - | associated with a slower rate | #3 |
Adherence to Mediterranean-DASH Diet Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) | no change | incident dementia | older US men and women in CHAP | - | not associated with | #4 |
Adherence to Mediterranean-DASH Diet Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) | no change | cognitive decline | older US men and women in CHAP | - | not associated with | #5 |
Genetic risk for AD | decrease | dementia | older US men and women in MAP and WHIMS | - | associated with a lower risk | #6 |
Genetic risk for AD | decrease | cognitive decline | older US men and women in MAP | - | associated with a slower rate | #7 |
Genetic risk for AD | no change | incident dementia | older US men and women in CHAP | - | not associated with | #8 |
Genetic risk for AD | no change | cognitive decline | older US men and women in CHAP | - | not associated with | #9 |
Adherence to Mediterranean-DASH Diet Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) | no change | dementia | older US men and women across cohorts | - | no gene−diet interaction | #10 |
Adherence to Mediterranean-DASH Diet Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) | no change | cognitive decline | older US men and women across cohorts | - | no gene−diet interaction | #11 |
Adherence to Mediterranean-DASH Diet Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) may lower the risk of dementia by impacting immunity and cholesterol, which are pathways also implicated by genome-wide association studies of Alzheimer’s Dementia (AD). We examined whether adherence to the MIND diet could modify the association of genetic risk for AD with incident dementia. We used three ongoing US cohorts: Chicago Health and Aging Project (CHAP, n = 2449), Rush Memory and Aging Project (MAP, n = 725), and Women’s Health Initiative Memory Study (WHIMS, n = 5308). Diagnosis of dementia was based on clinical neurological examination and standardized criteria. Repeated measures of global cognitive function were available in MAP and CHAP. Self-reported adherence to MIND was estimated using food-frequency questionnaires. Global and pathway-specific genetic scores (GS) for AD were derived. Cox proportional hazard, logistic regression, and mixed models were used to examine associations of MIND, GS, and GS-MIND interactions with incident dementia and cognitive decline. Higher adherence to MIND and lower GS were associated with a lower risk of dementia in MAP and WHIMS and a slower rate of cognitive decline in MAP (p < 0.05). MIND or GS were not associated with incident dementia or cognitive decline in CHAP. No gene−diet interaction was replicated across cohorts. Genetic risk and MIND adherence are independently associated with dementia among older US men and women.