Association of Mediterranean, high-quality, and anti-inflammatory diet with dementia in UK Biobank cohort

Background: This study examined the relationship between adherence to the Mediterranean diet, MIND diet, Recommended Food Score (RFS), Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI), and Energy-adjusted Dietary Inflammatory Index (EDII) and dementia risk in a large UK population cohort. Methods: We analyze...

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Main Authors: Ji-eun Youn, Yu-Jin Kwon, Yae-Ji Lee, Seok-Jae Heo, Ji-Won Lee
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-07-01
Series:The Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1279770725000880
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author Ji-eun Youn
Yu-Jin Kwon
Yae-Ji Lee
Seok-Jae Heo
Ji-Won Lee
author_facet Ji-eun Youn
Yu-Jin Kwon
Yae-Ji Lee
Seok-Jae Heo
Ji-Won Lee
author_sort Ji-eun Youn
collection DOAJ
description Background: This study examined the relationship between adherence to the Mediterranean diet, MIND diet, Recommended Food Score (RFS), Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI), and Energy-adjusted Dietary Inflammatory Index (EDII) and dementia risk in a large UK population cohort. Methods: We analyzed data from 131,209 participants in the UK Biobank, aged 40–69 years, with no prior diagnosis of dementia at baseline. Dietary intake was assessed using the validated Oxford WebQ tool, and adherence to each dietary pattern was calculated. Dementia incidence was identified using algorithmically defined outcomes based on ICD codes. Fine–Gray subdistribution hazard models adjusted for sociodemographic, genetic, and lifestyle factors were applied to examine the association between dietary indices and dementia risk. Subgroup analyses were conducted based on age, sex, obesity status, and ApoEε4 status. Results: Over a median follow-up of 13.5 years, 1453 dementia cases were identified. Higher adherence to the MEDAS, MIND diet, RFS, and AHEI was significantly associated with reduced dementia risk (HRs: 0.79, 0.73, 0.72, and 0.77, respectively). Conversely, higher EDII scores, indicating pro-inflammatory diets, were linked to an increased dementia risk (HR: 1.3). These associations were more pronounced in older adults (≥60 years), women, non-obese individuals, and ApoEε4 non-carriers. Subgroup analyses revealed differential impacts of dietary patterns based on demographic and health-related factors. Conclusion: Greater adherence to Mediterranean, MIND, and high-quality diets is associated with a lower risk of dementia, while pro-inflammatory diets increase the risk. High-quality anti-inflammatory diets play a significant role in reducing the risk of dementia, with stronger effects observed in specific subgroups.
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spelling doaj-art-15a2d222321d4eabaf316dc8a8b91eaa2025-08-20T02:36:23ZengElsevierThe Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging1760-47882025-07-0129710056410.1016/j.jnha.2025.100564Association of Mediterranean, high-quality, and anti-inflammatory diet with dementia in UK Biobank cohortJi-eun Youn0Yu-Jin Kwon1Yae-Ji Lee2Seok-Jae Heo3Ji-Won Lee4Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Family Medicine, Yongin Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Yongin 16995, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Biostatistics and Computing, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Republic of KoreaBiostatistics Collaboration Unit, Department of Biomedical Systems Informatics, Yonsei University College of Medicine, 50 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea; Corresponding authors.Department of Family Medicine, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea; Institute for Innovation in Digital Healthcare, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea; Corresponding authors.Background: This study examined the relationship between adherence to the Mediterranean diet, MIND diet, Recommended Food Score (RFS), Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI), and Energy-adjusted Dietary Inflammatory Index (EDII) and dementia risk in a large UK population cohort. Methods: We analyzed data from 131,209 participants in the UK Biobank, aged 40–69 years, with no prior diagnosis of dementia at baseline. Dietary intake was assessed using the validated Oxford WebQ tool, and adherence to each dietary pattern was calculated. Dementia incidence was identified using algorithmically defined outcomes based on ICD codes. Fine–Gray subdistribution hazard models adjusted for sociodemographic, genetic, and lifestyle factors were applied to examine the association between dietary indices and dementia risk. Subgroup analyses were conducted based on age, sex, obesity status, and ApoEε4 status. Results: Over a median follow-up of 13.5 years, 1453 dementia cases were identified. Higher adherence to the MEDAS, MIND diet, RFS, and AHEI was significantly associated with reduced dementia risk (HRs: 0.79, 0.73, 0.72, and 0.77, respectively). Conversely, higher EDII scores, indicating pro-inflammatory diets, were linked to an increased dementia risk (HR: 1.3). These associations were more pronounced in older adults (≥60 years), women, non-obese individuals, and ApoEε4 non-carriers. Subgroup analyses revealed differential impacts of dietary patterns based on demographic and health-related factors. Conclusion: Greater adherence to Mediterranean, MIND, and high-quality diets is associated with a lower risk of dementia, while pro-inflammatory diets increase the risk. High-quality anti-inflammatory diets play a significant role in reducing the risk of dementia, with stronger effects observed in specific subgroups.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1279770725000880Mediterranean dietMediterranean Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) dietRecommended Food Score (RFS)Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI)Energy-adjusted Dietary Inflammatory Index (EDII)Dementia
spellingShingle Ji-eun Youn
Yu-Jin Kwon
Yae-Ji Lee
Seok-Jae Heo
Ji-Won Lee
Association of Mediterranean, high-quality, and anti-inflammatory diet with dementia in UK Biobank cohort
The Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging
Mediterranean diet
Mediterranean Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet
Recommended Food Score (RFS)
Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI)
Energy-adjusted Dietary Inflammatory Index (EDII)
Dementia
title Association of Mediterranean, high-quality, and anti-inflammatory diet with dementia in UK Biobank cohort
title_full Association of Mediterranean, high-quality, and anti-inflammatory diet with dementia in UK Biobank cohort
title_fullStr Association of Mediterranean, high-quality, and anti-inflammatory diet with dementia in UK Biobank cohort
title_full_unstemmed Association of Mediterranean, high-quality, and anti-inflammatory diet with dementia in UK Biobank cohort
title_short Association of Mediterranean, high-quality, and anti-inflammatory diet with dementia in UK Biobank cohort
title_sort association of mediterranean high quality and anti inflammatory diet with dementia in uk biobank cohort
topic Mediterranean diet
Mediterranean Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet
Recommended Food Score (RFS)
Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI)
Energy-adjusted Dietary Inflammatory Index (EDII)
Dementia
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1279770725000880
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