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Mediterranean diet adherence is associated with lower dementia risk, independent of genetic predisposition: findings from the UK Biobank prospective cohort study
Shannon OM, Ranson JM, Gregory S, Macpherson H, Milte C, Lentjes M, et al.. BMC Medicine, 2023-03-14
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Background The identification of effective dementia prevention strategies is a major public health priority, due to the enormous and growing societal cost of this condition. Consumption of a Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) has been proposed to reduce dementia risk. However, current evidence is inconclusive and is typically derived from small cohorts with limited dementia cases. Additionally, few studies have explored the interaction between diet and genetic risk of dementia. Methods We used Cox proportional hazard regression models to explore the associations between MedDiet adherence, defined using two different scores (Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener [MEDAS] continuous and Mediterranean diet Pyramid [PYRAMID] scores), and incident all-cause dementia risk in 60,298 participants from UK Biobank, followed for an average 9.1 years. The interaction between diet and polygenic risk for dementia was also tested. Results Higher MedDiet adherence was associated with lower dementia risk (MEDAS continuous: HR = 0.77, 95% CI = 0.65-0.91; PYRAMID: HR = 0.86, 95% CI = 0.73-1.02 for highest versus lowest tertiles). There was no significant interaction between MedDiet adherence defined by the MEDAS continuous and PYRAMID scores and polygenic risk for dementia. Conclusions Higher adherence to a MedDiet was associated with lower dementia risk, independent of genetic risk, underlining the importance of diet in dementia prevention interventions.
Key findings
- Results Higher MedDiet adherence was associated with lower dementia risk (MEDAS continuous: HR = 0.77, 95% CI = 0.65-0.91; PYRAMID: HR = 0.86, 95% CI = 0.73-1.02 for highest versus lowest tertiles).
- There was no significant interaction between MedDiet adherence defined by the MEDAS continuous and PYRAMID scores and polygenic risk for dementia.
- Conclusions Higher adherence to a MedDiet was associated with lower dementia risk, independent of genetic risk, underlining the importance of diet in dementia prevention interventions.
Why it matters
In this UK Biobank cohort, higher Mediterranean diet adherence was linked to lower dementia risk, and this was independent of genetic risk. Being observational, it shows an association and cannot prove that the diet prevents dementia.
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Study details
- Study designcohort
- Participants60,298
- Effect sizeHR 0.77 (95% CI 0.65-0.91) for highest vs lowest MEDAS tertile
- Evidence strengthModerate
Limitations
Observational; UK Biobank volunteers are healthier and wealthier than the general population; diet from 24-hour recalls.
How this study scored 73/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a cohort study following people over time. Scored zero for randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on free to read, so that was left out: it earned 72 of the 98 points we could judge it on, which is 73 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (BMC Medicine) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | BMC Medicine: journal h-index 259 (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 | 3 / 5 | 2023 — within 6 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 4 / 4 | 60,298 participants |
| Effect reported | 3 / 3 | Effect reported with a statistic (interval, p-value, ratio or similar) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 165 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 33.0 citations a year over 5 year(s) since 2023 |
| Impact for its field and year | 5 / 6 | Cited 38.5× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 12 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 151 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Emma Stevenson: h-index 48 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University of Cambridge: institution h-index 1,973 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 3 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 14 institution(s) in 4 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 36915130) |
| Free to read | — / 2 | Access not recorded — left out of this score |
| Points | 72 / 98 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 72 of the 98 points we could judge it on is 73 out of 100. |
| Total | 73 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
Full text: free to read — PubMed Central lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 10 Oct 2026).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
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's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Shannon, O. M., Ranson, J. M., Gregory, S., Macpherson, H., Milte, C., Lentjes, M., et al. (2023). Mediterranean diet adherence is associated with lower dementia risk, independent of genetic predisposition: findings from the UK Biobank prospective cohort study. BMC Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-023-02772-3
Vancouver
Shannon OM, Ranson JM, Gregory S, Macpherson H, Milte C, Lentjes M, et al. Mediterranean diet adherence is associated with lower dementia risk, independent of genetic predisposition: findings from the UK Biobank prospective cohort study. BMC Medicine. 2023. doi:10.1186/s12916-023-02772-3. PMID: 36915130.
BibTeX
@article{shannon2023-36915130,
author = {Shannon, O. M. and Ranson, J. M. and Gregory, S. and Macpherson, H. and Milte, C. and Lentjes, M. and others},
title = {{Mediterranean diet adherence is associated with lower dementia risk, independent of genetic predisposition: findings from the UK Biobank prospective cohort study}},
journal = {BMC Medicine},
year = {2023},
doi = {10.1186/s12916-023-02772-3},
pmid = {36915130},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-023-02772-3}
}
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