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Adherence to a Mediterranean diet is associated with cognitive function in an older non-Mediterranean sample: findings from the Maine-Syracuse Longitudinal Study
The aim of this 2019 study was to assess the relationship between adherence to the Mediterranean diet and cognitive function in a sample outside of the Mediterranean basin. Wade et al. also planned to compare the difference in this association between middle-aged and older individuals. Using the data from the Maine-Syracuse Longitudinal Study (MSLS), a literature-based Mediterranean diet score was applied to determine adherence to the Mediterranean diet. A battery of tests was conducted to determine the cognitive function of the participants. The analyses did not produce any correlations between Mediterranean diet adherence and cognitive function. However, over a period of 5 years, higher adherence to a Mediterranean diet was linked with improved Global Cognitive Function, Visual-Spatial Organization and Memory and scanning and tracking in the 70+ age group. There were no other marked associations found considering the subjects under the age of 70. Therefore, the data suggest that higher adherence to a Mediterranean diet is related to enhanced cognitive performance in older but not middle-aged individuals. [NPIDs: aging, elderly, cognitive decline, neurodegenerative disorders, dementia, cognition, Mediterranean diet, visual spatial, memory]
Year: 2019
