Abstract
Background
Data on the association between dietary patterns and age-related cognitive decline
are inconsistent.
Objective
To determine whether dietary patterns assessed by the alternate Mediterranean diet
score (aMED), the Healthy Eating Index-2010 (HEI-2010), the Alternate Healthy Eating
Index 2010 (AHEI-2010), or the Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet score
are associated with cognitive decline in older women, and to examine whether dietary
patterns modify the risk for cognitive decline in women with hypertension.
Design
Prospective, longitudinal cohort study. Food frequency questionnaires were used to
derive dietary patterns at baseline. Hypertension was defined as self-report of current
drug therapy for hypertension or clinic measurement of systolic blood pressure ≥140
mm Hg or diastolic blood pressure ≥90 mm Hg.
Participants and setting
Postmenopausal women (N=6,425) aged 65 to 79 years who participated in the Women’s
Health Initiative Memory Study and were cognitively intact at baseline.
Main outcome measures
Cognitive decline was defined as cases of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or probable
dementia (PD). Cases were identified through rigorous screening and expert adjudication.
Statistical analyses performed
Cox proportional hazards models with multivariable adjustment were used to estimate
the relative risk for developing MCI or PD.
Results
During a median follow-up of 9.11 years, we documented 499 cases of MCI and 390 of
PD. In multivariable analyses we did not detect any statistically significant relationships
across quintiles of aMED, HEI-2010, DASH, and AHEI-2010 scores and MCI or PD (P values for trend=0.30, 0.44, 0.23, and 0.45). In women with hypertension, we found
no significant association between dietary patterns and cognitive decline (P values for trend=0.19, 0.08, 0.07, and 0.60).
Conclusions
Dietary patterns characterized by the aMED, HEI-2010, AHEI-2010, or DASH dietary score
were not associated with cognitive decline in older women. Adherence to a healthy
dietary pattern did not modify the risk for cognitive decline in women with hypertension.
Keywords
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Biography
B. Haring is a clinical fellow, Department of Internal Medicine I, Comprehensive Heart Failure Center, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Bavaria, Germany.
Biography
C. Wu is a statistician, Women’s Health Initiative, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA.
Biography
M. L. Neuhouser is a professor, Health Sciences Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA.
Biography
Y. Mossavar-Rahmani is an associate professor, Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY.
Biography
S. Wassertheil-Smoller is a professor, Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY.
Biography
L. Snetselaar is a professor, Department of Epidemiology, University of Iowa College of Public Health, Iowa City.
Biography
R. B. Wallace is a professor, Department of Epidemiology, University of Iowa College of Public Health, Iowa City.
Biography
R. Brunner is a professor, Department of Nutrition, University of Nevada School of Medicine, Reno.
Article info
Publication history
Published online: March 31, 2016
Accepted:
December 15,
2015
Received:
April 6,
2015
Footnotes
Supplementary materials: Table 4 is available online at www.andjrnl.org
STATEMENT OF POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
FUNDING/SUPPORT The WHI program is funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health, US Department of Health and Human Services, through contracts HHSN268201100046C, HHSN268201100001C, HHSN268201100002C, HHSN268201100003C, HHSN268201100004C, and HHSN271201100004C.
Identification
Copyright
© 2016 by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
