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69/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 69 out of 100. Prevention and risk

Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies

Context Higher adherence to a Mediterranean-type diet is linked to lower risk for mortality and chronic diseases, but its association with cognitive decline is unclear. Objective To investigate the association of a Mediterranean diet with change in cognitive performance and risk for dementia in elderly French persons. Design, setting, and participants Prospective cohort study of 1410 adults (> or = 65 years) from Bordeaux, France, included in the Three-City cohort in 2001-2002 and reexamined at least once over 5 years. Adherence to a Mediterranean diet (scored as 0 to 9) was computed from a food frequency questionnaire and 24-hour recall. Main outcome measures Cognitive performance was assessed on 4 neuropsychological tests: the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Isaacs Set Test (IST), Benton Visual Retention Test (BVRT), and Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test (FCSRT). Incident cases of dementia (n = 99) were validated by an independent expert committee of neurologists. Results Adjusting for age, sex, education, marital status, energy intake, physical activity, depressive symptomatology, taking 5 medications/d or more, apolipoprotein E genotype, cardiovascular risk factors, and stroke, higher Mediterranean diet score was associated with fewer MMSE errors (beta = -0.006; 95% confidence interval [CI], -0.01 to -0.0003; P = .04 for 1 point of the Mediterranean diet score). Performance on the IST, BVRT, or FCSRT over time was not significantly associated with Mediterranean diet adherence. Greater adherence as a categorical variable (score 6-9) was not significantly associated with fewer MMSE errors and better FCSRT scores in the entire cohort, but among individuals who remained free from dementia over 5 years, the association for the highest compared with the lowest group was significant (adjusted for all factors, for MMSE: beta = -0.03; 95% CI, -0.05 to -0.001; P = .04; for FCSRT: beta = 0.21; 95% CI, 0.008 to 0.41; P =.04). Mediterranean diet adherence was not associated with the risk for incident dementia (fully adjusted model: hazard ratio, 1.12; 95% CI, 0.60 to 2.10; P = .72), although power to detect a difference was limited. Conclusions Higher adherence to a Mediterranean diet was associated with slower MMSE cognitive decline but not consistently with other cognitive tests. Higher adherence was not associated with risk for incident dementia.

Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris

APA 7th

Féart, C., Samieri, C., Rondeau, V., Amieva, H., Portet, F., Dartigues, J. F., et al. (2009). Adherence to a Mediterranean diet, cognitive decline, and risk of dementia. JAMA. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2009.1146

Vancouver

Féart C, Samieri C, Rondeau V, Amieva H, Portet F, Dartigues JF, et al. Adherence to a Mediterranean diet, cognitive decline, and risk of dementia. JAMA. 2009. doi:10.1001/jama.2009.1146. PMID: 19671905.

BibTeX

@article{feart2009-19671905,
  author  = {Féart, C. and Samieri, C. and Rondeau, V. and Amieva, H. and Portet, F. and Dartigues, J. F. and Scarmeas, N. and Barberger-Gateau, P.},
  title   = {{Adherence to a Mediterranean diet, cognitive decline, and risk of dementia}},
  journal = {JAMA},
  year    = {2009},
  doi     = {10.1001/jama.2009.1146},
  pmid    = {19671905},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2009.1146}
}

Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record names 8 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.

Key findings

Context Higher adherence to a Mediterranean-type diet is linked to lower risk for mortality and chronic diseases, but its association with cognitive decline is unclear.
Results Adjusting for age, sex, education, marital status, energy intake, physical activity, depressive symptomatology, taking 5 medications/d or more, apolipoprotein E genotype, cardiovascular risk factors, and stroke, higher Mediterranean diet score was associated with fewer MMSE errors (beta = -0.006; 95% confidence interval [CI], -0.01 to -0.0003; P = .04 for 1 point of the Mediterranean diet score).
Performance on the IST, BVRT, or FCSRT over time was not significantly associated with Mediterranean diet adherence.
Greater adherence as a categorical variable (score 6-9) was not significantly associated with fewer MMSE errors and better FCSRT scores in the entire cohort, but among individuals who remained free from dementia over 5 years, the association for the highest compared with the lowest group was significant (adjusted for all factors, for MMSE: beta = -0.03; 95% CI, -0.05 to -0.001; P = .04; for FCSRT: beta = 0.21; 95% CI, 0.008 to 0.41; P =.04).
Mediterranean diet adherence was not associated with the risk for incident dementia (fully adjusted model: hazard ratio, 1.12; 95% CI, 0.60 to 2.10; P = .72), although power to detect a difference was limited.

Why it matters

In this observational study of 1,410 adults aged 65 and over in Bordeaux, France, followed for up to 5 years, people who followed a Mediterranean-style diet more closely made slightly fewer errors over time on one of four memory and thinking tests (the MMSE). The diet was not linked to dementia risk (hazard ratio 1.12, 95% CI 0.60–2.10), but the authors note the study had limited power to detect a difference. Association is not causation, and the authors describe the cognitive results as "not consistently" seen across tests.

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Study details

Study designcohort study
Participants99
Evidence strengthModerate

How this study scored 69/100

Published in a top-tier journal, and it is a cohort study following people over time. Scored zero for effect reported and randomized / blinded because the record does not state it.

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	10 / 10	Tier 1 — top-tier general journal (JAMA)
Journal's citation record	4 / 4	JAMA: journal h-index 1,011 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29)
Study design	7 / 12	A cohort study following people over time
Strength of evidence	3 / 5	Rated “moderate” in our summary
Peer-review validation	10 / 10	Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal.
How recent	1 / 5	2009 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here
Sample size	1 / 4	99 participants
Effect reported	0 / 3	No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Studied in people	3 / 3	Studied in people (participant count stated)
Randomized / blinded	0 / 2	No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Times cited	6 / 7	Cited 758 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	4 / 5	39.9 citations a year over 19 year(s) since 2009
Impact for its field and year	6 / 6	Cited 48.4× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	4 / 6	Cited by 41 other studies in this library
Still being cited	2 / 4	Cited 49 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	2 / 4	Last-listed author Catherine Féart: h-index 48 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	2 / 3	Inserm: institution h-index 1,988 (OpenAlex)
Multicenter collaboration	2 / 3	OpenAlex lists 4 institution(s) in 2 countries
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 19671905)
Free to read	0 / 2	Behind a paywall — scores zero
Total	69 / 100	—

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