Foods, dietary patterns, and risk of vascular dementia: a systematic review

Vascular dementia (VaD) is the second most common cause of dementia globally and is associated with a significant economic and social burden. Diet could represent an important tractable risk factor for VaD. We synthesised current evidence on associations between consumption of specific foods or dietary patterns and VaD risk.

Five databases were searched from inception to January 2024 for prospective cohort studies exploring associations between individual foods or dietary patterns and incident VaD.

Sixteen studies were included. Compared with low intake reference groups, higher fruit and vegetable intake, moderate alcoholic drink intake (1-3 drinks/day), higher tea and coffee intake, and following a plant-based dietary pattern were associated with lower VaD risk. Conversely, moderate fried fish intake (0.25-2 servings/week), higher ultra-processed food intake (especially intake of sweetened beverages) and higher processed meat intake (≥ 2 servings/week) were associated with increased VaD risk. Inconsistent findings were observed for other dietary exposures.

A healthy diet could lower VaD risk. However, evidence is characterised by a limited number of studies for specific dietary exposures. Further research is needed to inform personalised and population-based approaches to lower VaD risk.