This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

The 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee weighed the available evidence on dietary patterns associated with the risk of cognitive impairment and dementia but said there were not enough data to make a recommendation. In response, a new paper by U.S. and European researchers addresses ambiguities across studies and harmonizes key data to shed light on how different diets may shape cognitive performance, executive function and dementia.

Worldwide, roughly 57 million people live with dementia, with 10 million new cases diagnosed every year, illustrating the public health and economic impact of these conditions.

By pooling individual participant data from diverse studies, the researchers strengthened the evidence available to inform public health policy. Their paper appears in the Journal of Nutrition.

According to the study, the scientists conducted a pooled analysis of 17,368 participants using harmonized data from studies in Europe and the U.S. Dietary intake was assessed using food frequency questionnaires, diet histories or food records and standardized to estimate adherence to seven reportedly healthy dietary patterns.

The dietary patterns under study included Healthy Eating Index-2020 (HEI-2020), Alternate Healthy Eating Index-2010 (AHEI-2010), EAT-Lancet, traditional Mediterranean diet (MedDiet), continuous MedDiet, Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) and Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND).

The research found that when viewed cross-sectionally, higher adherence to the continuous MedDiet was associated with better global cognition, while higher adherence to DASH and continuous MedDiet was associated with better executive function.

Source link