Public Health

Findings from observational studies which examined relationships between Mediterranean- DASH for Neurodegenerative Delay(MIND) diet scores and risk of dementia are promising. We investigated whether MIND diet scores are associated with incident all-cause dementia and being alive and dementia free at age 80 across six community-based cohorts.

We analyzed data from 8714 dementia free adults (mean age range across cohorts: 67 to 73) who participated in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) cohort, Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS), Three City (3C) cohort, Framingham Offspring Study (FOS) cohort, Rotterdam Study (RS) or the Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP) cohort. Individuals had incident all-cause dementia surveillance data available and completed a validated food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) (ARIC, CHS, FOS, RS, 3C), 24h dietary recall (3C), or an extensive food list (SHIP). The MIND diet score is derived from ten healthy and five unhealthy components. We used Cox regression and logistic regression. Results were combined in meta-analysis using fixed effects and random effects models.

Higher MIND diet scores (score range: 0-15) and MIND diet scores ≥6 were associated with decreased risk for all-cause dementia (Hazard ratio(HR) = 0.96,95% confidence interval(CI)=0.93-0.99; 0.86,95%CI=0.78-0.94, respectively) after adjustment for age at dietary intake assessment visit, sex, and total energy intake. Further, higher MIND diet scores and MIND diet scores ≥6 related to higher odds of being alive and dementia free at age 80 (Odds ratio(OR) = 1.11,95%CI=1.07-1.15;OR=1.37,95%CI=1.22-1.54, respectively). Heterogeneity between studies ranged between 0-30%.

Higher MIND diet scores associated with decreased all-cause dementia risk and being alive and dementia free at age 80. We encourage clinical trials to examine the MIND diet in relation to dementia related outcomes such as amyloid and tau to elucidate whether a causal relationship between the MIND diet and dementia pathologies exists.