Background In a previous study, higher concordance to the MIND diet, a hybrid Mediterranean-DASH diet, was associated with slower cognitive decline. In this study we related these three dietary patterns to incident Alzheimer’s disease. Methods We investigated the diet-AD relations in a prospective study of 923 participants, ages 58 to 98 years, followed on average 4.5 years. Diet was assessed by a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Results In adjusted proportional hazards models, the second (HR=0.65, 95% CI 0.44, 0.98) and highest tertiles (HR=0.47, 95% CI 0.26, 0.76) of MIND diet scores had lower rates of AD versus tertile 1 whereas only the third tertiles of the DASH (HR=0.61, 95% CI 0.38, 0.97) and Mediterranean (HR=0.46, 95% CI 0.26, 0.79) diets were associated with lower AD rates. Conclusion High adherence to all three diets may reduce AD risk. Moderate adherence to the MIND diet may also decrease AD risk.

Background The Mediterranean and DASH diets have been shown to slow cognitive decline, however, neither diet is specific to the nutrition literature on dementia prevention. Methods We devised the MIND diet score that specifically captures dietary components shown to be neuroprotective and related it to change in cognition over an average 4.7 years among 960 participants of the Memory and Aging Project. Results In adjusted mixed models, the MIND score was positively associated with slower decline in global cognitive score (β=0.0092; p<.0001) and with each of 5 cognitive domains. The difference in decline rates for being in the top tertile of MIND diet scores versus the lowest was equivalent to being 7.5 years younger in age. Conclusion The study findings suggest that the MIND diet substantially slows cognitive decline with age. Replication of these findings in a dietary intervention trial would be required to verify its relevance to brain health.

Objective-To examine the association between rates of cognitive change and dietary consumption of fruits and vegetables among older persons.Methods-The authors conducted a prospective cohort study of 3,718 participants, aged 65 years and older of the Chicago Health and Aging Project. Participants completed a food frequency questionnaire and were administered at least two of three cognitive assessments at baseline, 3-year, and 6-year follow-ups. Cognitive function was measured using the average z-score of four tests: the East Boston Tests of immediate memory and delayed recall, the Mini-Mental State Examination, and the Symbol Digit Modalities Test.Results-The mean cognitive score at baseline for the analyzed cohort was 0.18 (range: −3.5 to 1.6), and the overall mean change in score per year was a decline of 0.04 standardized units. In mixed effects models adjusted for age, sex, race, and education, compared with the rate of cognitive decline among persons in the lowest quintile of vegetable intake (median of 0.9 servings/day), the rate for persons in the fourth quintile (median, 2.8 servings/day) was slower by 0.019 standardized units per year (p = 0.01), a 40% decrease, and by 0.018 standardized units per year (p = 0.02) for the fifth quintile (median, 4.1 servings/day), or a 38% decrease in rates. The association remained significant (p for linear trend = 0.02) with further control of cardiovascularrelated conditions and risk factors. Fruit consumption was not associated with cognitive change.Conclusion-High vegetable but not fruit consumption may be associated with slower rate of cognitive decline with older age.A number of prospective epidemiologic studies and animal models have found associations between individual dietary components and age-related cognitive change and dementia, including antioxidant nutrients, B-vitamins, and dietary fats. Where it is useful to examine individual dietary components to better understand the biochemical mechanisms underlying disease processes and to identify potential therapeutic agents, it is also helpful, especially from a public health perspective, to understand associations at the level of food groups. The message to consume more or less of a food group is much simpler than the message to consume more or less of individual nutrients, which vary from food to food. Previously, we found associations of a number of food components with age-related cognitive decline, including tocopherols (vitamin E), niacin, folate, vitamin B-12, and fat composition. In this study, we focus on fruits and vegetables, as they are rich sources of antioxidant nutrients and bioactive compounds (e.g., vitamin E, vitamin C, carotenoids, and flavonoids) and also low in saturated fats. In animal models, diets supplemented with fruit and vegetable extracts protected against cognitive behavioral changes and brain neuropathology. We examined fruit and vegetable consumption in relation to 6-year cognitive change in a large, biracial population of older Chicago residents. Methods PopulationStudy ...

Background Lower household income has been consistently associated with poorer diet quality. Household food purchases may be an important intervention target to improve diet quality among low income populations. Associations between household income and the diet quality of household food purchases were examined. Methods Food purchase receipt data were collected for 14 days from 202 urban households participating in a study about food shopping. Purchase data were analyzed using NDS-R software and scored using the Healthy Eating Index 2010 (HEI 2010). HEI total and subscores, and proportion of grocery dollars spent on food categories (e.g. fruits, vegetables, sugar sweetened beverages) were examined by household income-to-poverty ratio. Results Compared to lower income households, after adjusting for education, marital status and race, higher income households had significantly higher HEI total scores (mean [sd] = 68.2 [13.3] versus 51.6 [13.9], respectively, adjusted p = 0.05), higher total vegetable scores (mean [sd] = 3.6 [1.4] versus 2.3 [1.6], respectively, adjusted p < .01), higher dairy scores (mean [sd] = 5.6 [3.0] versus 5.0 [3.3], p = .05) and lower proportion of grocery dollars spent on frozen desserts (1% [.02] versus 3% [.07], respectively, p = .02). Conclusions Lower income households purchase less healthful foods compared with higher income households. Food purchasing patterns may mediate income differences in dietary intake quality. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02073643.

A diet high in saturated or trans-unsaturated fat or low in nonhydrogenated unsaturated fats may be associated with cognitive decline among older persons.