ORIENT Diet: A Potential Neuroprotective Dietary Pattern for Chinese Stroke High-Risk Population

Given the particularity of Asian cultures and dietary habits, there is a need to establish a neuroprotective dietary pattern specially for the Asian stroke high-risk population, to prevent cognitive impairment.

A systematic review and cross-sectional study.

Chinese stroke high-risk population from the CIRCLE (NCT03542734) study.

The Oriental Intervention for Enhanced Neurocognitive healTh (ORIENT) diet was developed by replacing the western foods in the Mediterranean-DASH diet Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet with appropriate Asian alternatives, and refining the recommended intake frequency based on a systematic review, which examined Asian studies in the cognition-diet field. Cognitive impairment was defined as a global cognitive score ≥1 SD below the sample mean, based on the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and Canadian Stroke Network vascular cognitive impairment battery.

A total of 568 participants were finally included, with 325 men (57.2%) and a mean age of 60.5 ± 7.3 years. Participants in the highest tertile of ORIENT score had 60.5% lower odds of cognitive impairment than those in the lowest tertile (odds ratio = 0.395, 95% CI = 0.165-0.944, P = .044) when adjusted for demographic variables, lifestyle factors, and health status. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that each 1-point increase in ORIENT score was associated with 0.048 higher global cognitive score, 0.281 higher Mini-Mental State Examination score, and 0.344 higher Montreal Cognitive Assessment score.

High adherence to ORIENT diet was associated with lower odds of cognitive impairment, providing a potential neuroprotective dietary pattern for Chinese stroke high-risk population.