Mediterranean Diet, Its Components, and Amyloid Imaging Biomarkers

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Nutritional Science
• Gerontology

Background:

• Accumulating evidence suggests diet influences cognitive decline and dementia.
• Biological mechanisms linking diet and cognitive health remain poorly understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between the Mediterranean diet (MeDi) and its components with brain amyloid-β (Aβ) deposition.
• Utilize 11C-PiB-PET scans to measure Aβ deposition in cognitively unimpaired older adults.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study of 278 cognitively unimpaired participants (age 70+) from the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging.
• Assessed MeDi adherence using a Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) and calculated a MeDi score.
• Analyzed associations using linear and logistic regression, adjusting for relevant covariates including age, sex, education, APOE ɛ4 status, and time between FFQ and PET scan.

Main Results:

• Higher MeDi scores were associated with lower Aβ deposition (beta: -0.035, p = 0.012).
• Increased intake of vegetables (beta: -0.043, p = 0.002), vitamin A (beta: -0.041, p = 0.003), β-carotene (beta: -0.039, p = 0.005), and moderate alcohol consumption (beta: -0.074, p = 0.03) also correlated with reduced Aβ.
• Results were adjusted for potential confounders.

Conclusions:

• Findings support previous research linking higher MeDi adherence and vegetable consumption to a better neuroimaging biomarker profile.
• Suggests a potential role for the Mediterranean diet in mitigating Aβ pathology.
• Prospective studies are recommended to validate these cross-sectional associations.