Diets to promote healthy brain ageing

Area of Science:

• Nutrition and Cognitive Health
• Neuroscience and Aging
• Public Health and Epidemiology

Background:

• Diet is a key modifiable factor for cardiovascular health and may impact cognitive function.
• Observational studies suggest healthy diets benefit cognition, but clinical trials show minimal effects.
• Growing burden of dementia necessitates understanding diet's role in prevention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review evidence on diet's role in preventing cognitive decline and dementia from observational and clinical studies.
• To identify methodological limitations hindering previous diet intervention trials.
• To propose a roadmap for future dementia prevention trials.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of observational studies and clinical trials on diet and cognitive outcomes.
• Analysis of methodological challenges in diet intervention research.
• Discussion of future trial designs, including personalized and large-scale public health interventions.

Main Results:

• Observational data links healthy diets to cognitive benefits.
• Clinical trials have yielded null or small effects on cognitive outcomes.
• Methodological limitations may obscure diet's true neuroprotective potential.

Conclusions:

• Diet's precise role in dementia prevention requires further investigation.
• Future trials must address methodological issues to inform clinical practice and policy.
• A dual approach of intensive personalized and large-scale pragmatic trials is recommended.