MIND Diet Adherance Decreases Cognitive Impairment Risk in Women

Greater accordance to the Mediterranean-Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet decreases the risk of developing cognitive impairment in select patients, according to study results published in Neurology.

Researchers conducted a prospective cohort study to assess the relationship between MIND diet adherence and incident cognitive impairment. Data were sourced from the Food Frequency Questionnaire in the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study, which included Black and White adults aged 45 and older. A computer-assisted telephone interview and in-home examination were completed at baseline (2003-2007) and 10 years post-baseline (2013-2016). The Block 98 Food Frequency Questionnaire was used to calculate the MIND diet score and cognitive outcomes assessed using a battery of tests. Logistic regression and mixed-effects models were used in statistical analyses.

A total of 14,145 participants (mean age, 64; women, 56.7%) were included in the study.  

After adjusting for covariates, greater accordance to the MIND diet was related to a decreased risk for incident cognitive impairment (full adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.96; 95% CI, 0.93-0.99; P =.02).

A significant interaction was observed between sex and adherence to the MIND diet (P =.02), but not race (P =.87) or age (P =.45). According to logistic regression, greater MIND diet adherence was linked to a decreased risk for cognitive impairment in women (OR, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.89-0.96; P <.001), but not men (OR, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.96-1.04; P =.91). In all models, this relationship persisted among women (fully adjusted OR, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.88-0.96; P <.001).

Greater MIND diet adherence was associated with a decreased risk for cognitive decline in all models. A significant association was observed between race, MIND diet adherence, and time (P =.005). Accordance to the MIND diet better predicted cognitive decline in Black (β, 0.04; P <.001) vs White (β, 0.03; P <.001) individuals. Significant interactions were also noted between sex and MIND diet accordance, such that MIND diet accordance better predicted cognitive decline in women (β, 0.04; P <.001) vs men (β, 0.02; P =.004).

Study limitations include potential measurement error and misclassification, selection bias, reduced generalizability of results to more diverse and younger populations, variability in the number of cognitive assessments completed by each participant, and potential confounders.

“[T]he MIND diet has a differential effect on incident cognitive impairment and cognitive decline in different sexes and racial groups. This suggests that accordance to the MIND diet may affect cognitive reserve differently across races and warrants further research,” the study authors concluded.

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