Background

Identification of effective dementia prevention strategies is a top public health priority, due to the enormous and increasing social costs of this condition. Eating the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) has been suggested to reduce the risk of dementia. However, the current evidence is inconclusive and generally comes from small cohorts with limited cases of dementia. In addition, several studies have explored the interaction between diet and the genetic risk of dementia.

method

We used the Cox proportional hazards regression model to explore the relationship between MedDiet adherence, which is defined by two different scores (the Mediterranean Diet Compliance Screener continuous score). [MEDAS] and the Pyramid of the Mediterranean diet [PYRAMID]), and risk of incident all-cause dementia in 60,298 UK Biobank participants, followed for a median of 9.1 years. The interaction between diet and polygenic dementia risk was also tested.

Results

Higher MedDiet adherence was associated with lower dementia risk (sustained MEDAS: HR = 0.77, 95% CI = 0.65–0.91; PYRAMID: HR = 0.86, 95% CI = 0.73 –1.02 for highest versus lowest tertiles).

There was no significant interaction between MedDiet adherence as determined by MEDAS and PYRAMID continuous scores and polygenic dementia risk.

Number: Relationship between MedDiet adherence and dementia risk (n = 60,298, including 882 dementia cases). MedDiet adherence levels are divided into tertiles, with dotted lines representing the low MedDiet adherence reference group for each MedDiet score.

Comment

Eating a traditional Mediterranean diet, rich in foods like shellfish, fruit and nuts, is associated with a reduced risk of dementia, reports a study published in BMC Medicine. People with the highest adherence to the Mediterranean diet had up to a 23% lower risk of dementia compared to those with the lowest adherence to the Mediterranean diet.