MIND Diet and Cognitive Function in Puerto Rican Older Adults

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Nutritional Science
• Public Health

Background:

• Healthy diets are linked to improved cognitive function.
• Socioeconomic factors like education and income may influence diet-cognition relationships.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the association between long-term adherence to the Mediterranean-Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension - Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet and cognitive function.
• To investigate if socioeconomic factors confound or modify the MIND diet-cognition association in Puerto Rican adults.

Main Methods:

• Adjusted linear mixed models were used to analyze data.
• Cognitive function was assessed over an 8-year follow-up period.
• Socioeconomic measures included education, income-to-poverty ratio, and job complexity.

Main Results:

• Higher adherence to the MIND diet was associated with better cognitive function cross-sectionally and longitudinally.
• The MIND diet was not associated with changes in cognitive trajectory over 8 years.
• Lower education and income-to-poverty ratio were linked to lower cognitive function, while higher job complexity was linked to better cognition.

Conclusions:

• MIND diet adherence is associated with better cognitive function, but not cognitive trajectory over 8 years.
• Socioeconomic factors act as confounders, not effect modifiers, in the MIND diet-cognition relationship.
• Further research is needed to confirm the MIND diet's protective effects against long-term cognitive decline.