Luciano M, Corley J, Cox SR, Valdés Hernández MC, Craig LC, Dickie DA, Karama S, McNeill GM, Bastin ME, Wardlaw JM, Deary IJ.
Mediterranean-type diet and brain structural change from 73 to 76 years in a Scottish cohort.
Neurology. 2017 Jan 4;
PubMed.
Nikolaos Scarmeas Columbia University - National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Posted:
This is a very nice study. The authors demonstrate that greater adherence to a Mediterranean-type diet is related to slower rates of brain atrophy change over three years (over and above a series of potential confounders). There were previous reports of such associations, but this study adds on additional components, including the relatively younger age and, more importantly, the longitudinal component of brain atrophy over time. Although it cannot prove causality, since many alternative explanations exist, it strengthens the notion that a healthy diet may have direct biological connections with brain biological processes, particularly neurodegenerative ones. In a previous publication from this cohort, it was suggested that the association between a Mediterranean diet (derived differently, via a principal components analyses) and cognitive status was mediated primarily by childhood IQ performance. Measures of crystallized IQ were considered in the present study. Although models examining inclusion of childhood IQ may be extremely conservative, it would be still interesting to know its influence on the association.
Comments
Columbia University - National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
This is a very nice study. The authors demonstrate that greater adherence to a Mediterranean-type diet is related to slower rates of brain atrophy change over three years (over and above a series of potential confounders). There were previous reports of such associations, but this study adds on additional components, including the relatively younger age and, more importantly, the longitudinal component of brain atrophy over time. Although it cannot prove causality, since many alternative explanations exist, it strengthens the notion that a healthy diet may have direct biological connections with brain biological processes, particularly neurodegenerative ones. In a previous publication from this cohort, it was suggested that the association between a Mediterranean diet (derived differently, via a principal components analyses) and cognitive status was mediated primarily by childhood IQ performance. Measures of crystallized IQ were considered in the present study. Although models examining inclusion of childhood IQ may be extremely conservative, it would be still interesting to know its influence on the association.
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