The link between dietary patterns and developing dementia (advanced cognitive impairment) may not be so clear after all, according to a new study published in the journal Neurology.
Previous studies have shown that diet and other lifestyle measures may play a role in your risk for dementia, especially in people with diabetes. Following a plant-based diet has been linked to a lower dementia risk, as has greater consumption of fiber, antioxidants, and plant protein. Drinking coffee or tea has also been linked to a lower dementia risk, while consuming inflammatory foods has been linked to a higher risk. When it comes to lifestyle measures other than diet, a higher daily step count and a greater body weight have both been linked to a lower dementia risk, while poor oral health is linked to a higher dementia risk.
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For the latest study, researchers compared dietary habits in 28,025 middle-ages adults with the risk of developing dementia in following years, with a median follow-up period of 19.8 years. The study participants were all residents of Malmö, Sweden, who were born between 1923 and 1950, with an average age of 58.1 at the beginning of the study (between 1991 and 1996). Participants’ dietary habits were assessed using a 7-day food diary, a detailed food frequency questionnaire, and an hourlong interview. When comparing dietary patterns with the risk of dementia, the researchers adjusted for factors including participants’ age, sex, other health conditions, smoking status, alcohol intake, and physical activity.
Dementia risk not linked to dietary patterns
During the follow-up period, 1,943 participants (6.9%) received a diagnosis of dementia. The researchers found that participants whose eating patterns most closely followed general dietary recommendations were no less likely to develop dementia. In fact, participants with the worst adherence to dietary recommendations, compared with the best, were 7% less likely to develop dementia from all causes, and just 3% more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease. When the researchers looked at adherence to a modified Mediterranean diet, there was similarly no benefit found — participants with the worst adherence were 7% less likely to develop dementia from all causes and 10% less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease.
None of these outcomes were large enough to be statistically significant — meaning they could have been due to chance, rather than what participants actually ate. Outcomes were similar when people who developed dementia within the first 5 years were excluded from the analysis, as well as when people with diabetes were excluded from the analysis.
There are some important limitations and caveats to this study. For one, participants only had their diet assessed at the beginning, not throughout the follow-up period. It’s possible that participants’ dietary patterns changed, and that these changes could have contributed to a higher or lower dementia risk. It’s also possible that the general dietary recommendations and the modified Mediterranean diet that the researchers included in their analysis aren’t the best dietary patterns for preventing dementia — but that other dietary patterns could have a substantial benefit when it comes to dementia risk.
Want to learn more about maintaining cognitive health with diabetes? Read “Nine Tips to Keep Your Memory With Diabetes,” “Keeping Your Brain Strong With Diabetes” and “Memory Fitness: How to Get It, How to Keep It.”
