08 May Adherence to MIND Diet May Reduce Risk of All-Cause Dementia
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Yuan Changzheng
Yuan Changzheng ScD, MSc, B.M.
Research Professor
Doctoral supervisor, School of Medicine
Zhejiang University School of Public Health
Adjunct assistant professor
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: The prevention of all-cause dementia is important as it poses substantial burdens on healthcare systems and threatens the well-being of older adults, and lack of effective treatments makes its prevention crucial. The Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet is a hybrid of the Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet, and it emphasizes natural plant-based foods, limited intake of certain animal foods and foods high in saturated fat and encourages consumption of berries and green leafy vegetables rich in vitamins and antioxidants. The MIND diet has previously been associated with lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease and slower cognitive decline but few studies have examined its association with all-cause dementia or AD with inconclusive results.
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings?
Response: The main findings of the study, which included cohort analyses of three prospective studies and a meta-analysis, suggest that adherence to the MIND diet may potentially reduce the risk of all-cause dementia in middle-aged and older adults.
MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?
Response: The key message to take aways is that: the MIND diet, which emphasizes natural and healthy plant-based foods, limited intake of certain animal foods and foods high in saturated fat and encourages consumption of berries and green leafy vegetables rich in vitamins and antioxidants, showed a beneficial association with risk of all-cause dementia in middle-aged and older adults.
MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a results of this study?
Response: Based on the results of this study, we suggest that further investigations are needed to develop and refine the specific MIND diet for different populations. Additionally, future studies should evaluate and identify the optimal intervention time window for dementia prevention. It is also recommended to assess the association of the MIND diet with subtypes of dementia using consistent definitions across cohorts and to explore the impact of unmeasured confounding factors on the association of the MIND diet with dementia.
MedicalResearch.com: Is there anything else you would like to add? Any disclosures?
Response: We would like to note that our findings are based on observational studies, which means that we cannot assert that the MIND diet would causally reduce dementia risk. Therefore, our findings should be interpreted with caution. Also, in the meta-analysis, we observed moderate heterogeneity among studies, which means that current evidence is still inconsistent, and future studies are still warranted.
We disclose no conflict of interest.
Citation:
Chen H, Dhana K, Huang Y, et al. Association of the Mediterranean Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) Diet With the Risk of Dementia. JAMA Psychiatry. Published online May 03, 2023. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2023.0800
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