Home › Research › Prevention and risk
Dietary Patterns and Risk of Dementia: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Cohort Studies
Cao L, Tan L, Wang HF, Jiang T, Zhu XC, Lu H, Tan MS, Yu JT.. Molecular neurobiology, 2015-11-09
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Plain-language summary
Dietary patterns and some dietary components have been linked with dementia. We therefore performed a meta-analysis of available studies to determine whether there is an association between diet and risk of dementia. We included eligible articles and estimated risk ratio (RR) with 95 % confidence intervals (95 % CIs). Finally, there were 43 trials that met the inclusion standard. Some food intake was related with decrease of dementia, such as unsaturated fatty acids (RR: 0.84, 95 % CI: [0.74-0.95], P = 0.006), antioxidants (RR: 0.87, 95 % CI: [0.77-0.98], P = 0.026), vitamin B (RR: 0.72, 95 % CI: [0.54-0.96], P = 0.026), and the Mediterranean diet (MeDi) (RR: 0.69, 95 % CI: [0.57-0.84], P < 0.001). Some material intakes were related with increase of dementia, such as aluminum (RR: 2.24, 95 % CI: [1.49-3.37], P < 0.001), smoking (RR: 1.43, 95 % CI: [1.15-1.77], P = 0.001), and low levels of vitamin D (RR: 1.52, 95 % CI: [1.17-1.98], P = 0.002). The effect of some materials needs further investigation, such as fish (RR: 0.79, 95 % CI: [0.59-1.06], P = 0.113), vegetables and fruits (RR: 0.46, 95 % CI: [0.16-1.32], P = 0.149), and alcohol (RR: 0.74, 95 % CI: [0.55- 1.01], P = 0.056). Thus, the MeDi and higher consumption of unsaturated fatty acids, antioxidants, and B vitamins decrease the risk of dementia while smoking and higher consumption of aluminum increase the risk of dementia. Low levels of vitamin D were associated with cognitive decline. The effect of fish, vegetables, fruits, and alcohol needs further investigation. The findings will be of great significance to guide people to prevent dementia.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Cao, L., Tan, L., Wang, H. F., Jiang, T., Zhu, X. C., Lu, H., et al. (2016). Dietary Patterns and Risk of Dementia: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Cohort Studies. Molecular neurobiology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12035-015-9516-4
Vancouver
Cao L, Tan L, Wang HF, Jiang T, Zhu XC, Lu H, et al. Dietary Patterns and Risk of Dementia: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Cohort Studies. Molecular neurobiology. 2016. doi:10.1007/s12035-015-9516-4. PMID: 26553347.
BibTeX
@article{cao2016-26553347,
author = {Cao, L. and Tan, L. and Wang, H. F. and Jiang, T. and Zhu, X. C. and Lu, H. and Tan, M. S. and Yu, J. T.},
title = {{Dietary Patterns and Risk of Dementia: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Cohort Studies}},
journal = {Molecular neurobiology},
year = {2016},
doi = {10.1007/s12035-015-9516-4},
pmid = {26553347},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s12035-015-9516-4}
}
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
- Low levels of vitamin D were associated with cognitive decline.
Why it matters
This meta-analysis found that the Mediterranean diet and higher intake of unsaturated fatty acids, antioxidants, and B vitamins were linked to lower dementia risk, while smoking, higher aluminum intake, and low vitamin D were linked to higher risk. It does not show that any diet prevents or cures dementia, only associations from observational studies.
New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Prevention →
Study details
- Study designmeta-analysis
- Effect sizeRR: 0.84; RR: 0.87; RR: 0.72
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 65/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a meta-analysis pooling many studies. Scored zero for sample size and studied in people because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Molecular neurobiology) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Molecular Neurobiology: journal h-index 176 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 12 / 12 | A meta-analysis pooling many studies |
| Strength of evidence | 5 / 5 | Rated “high” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2016 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 3 / 3 | Effect reported with a statistic (interval, p-value, ratio or similar) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomized / blinded | 0 / 2 | A review of other studies — randomization is not credited here |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 231 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 19.2 citations a year over 12 year(s) since 2016 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 3.5× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 15 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 46 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Jin‐Tai Yu: h-index 94 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University of California, San Francisco: institution h-index 1,915 (OpenAlex) |
| Multicenter collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 5 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 26553347) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 65 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
May need a subscription OpenAlex found no free copy of the full text (checked 6 Feb 1020), so the publisher may charge for it. The PubMed abstract is free.
Related
Studies in the library that share something with this one. The line above each title says what.
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here. Showing 12 of 26.
Later studies that cite this one
15 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references. Showing the 8 highest-scoring.
Related studies in Prevention and risk from nearby years
Also tagged “incidence”
1,084 studies in the library carry the topic tag “incidence”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 1,084 tagged studies.