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Mediterranean diet and brain structure in a multiethnic elderly cohort
Gu Y, Brickman AM, Stern Y, Habeck CG, Razlighi QR, Luchsinger JA, Manly JJ, Schupf N et al.. Neurology, 2015-10-21
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Objective To determine whether higher adherence to a Mediterranean-type diet (MeDi) is related with larger MRI-measured brain volume or cortical thickness. Methods In this cross-sectional study, high-resolution structural MRI was collected on 674 elderly (mean age 80.1 years) adults without dementia who participated in a community-based, multiethnic cohort. Dietary information was collected via a food frequency questionnaire. Total brain volume (TBV), total gray matter volume (TGMV), total white matter volume (TWMV), mean cortical thickness (mCT), and regional volume or CT were derived from MRI scans using FreeSurfer program. We examined the association of MeDi (scored as 0-9) and individual food groups with brain volume and thickness using regression models adjusted for age, sex, ethnicity, education, body mass index, diabetes, and cognition. Results Compared to lower MeDi adherence (0-4), higher adherence (5-9) was associated with 13.11 (p = 0.007), 5.00 (p = 0.05), and 6.41 (p = 0.05) milliliter larger TBV, TGMV, and TWMV, respectively. Higher fish (b = 7.06, p = 0.006) and lower meat (b = 8.42, p = 0.002) intakes were associated with larger TGMV. Lower meat intake was also associated with larger TBV (b = 12.20, p = 0.02). Higher fish intake was associated with 0.019 mm (p = 0.03) larger mCT. Volumes of cingulate cortex, parietal lobe, temporal lobe, and hippocampus and CT of the superior-frontal region were associated with the dietary factors. Conclusions Among older adults, MeDi adherence was associated with less brain atrophy, with an effect similar to 5 years of aging. Higher fish and lower meat intake might be the 2 key food elements that contribute to the benefits of MeDi on brain structure.
Key findings
- Results Compared to lower MeDi adherence (0-4), higher adherence (5-9) was associated with 13.11 (p = 0.007), 5.00 (p = 0.05), and 6.41 (p = 0.05) milliliter larger TBV, TGMV, and TWMV, respectively.
- Higher fish (b = 7.06, p = 0.006) and lower meat (b = 8.42, p = 0.002) intakes were associated with larger TGMV.
- Lower meat intake was also associated with larger TBV (b = 12.20, p = 0.02).
- Higher fish intake was associated with 0.019 mm (p = 0.03) larger mCT.
- Volumes of cingulate cortex, parietal lobe, temporal lobe, and hippocampus and CT of the superior-frontal region were associated with the dietary factors.
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Study details
- Study designcross-sectional
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 50/100
Published in a leading specialty journal, and it is a snapshot of people at one point in time. Scored zero for sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 29 of the 58 points we could judge it on, which is 50 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 4 / 12 | A snapshot of people at one point in 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 | 2015 — 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 | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 26491085) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 29 / 58 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 29 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 50 out of 100. |
| Total | 50 / 100 | — |
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APA 7th
Gu, Y., Brickman, A. M., Stern, Y., Habeck, C. G., Razlighi, Q. R., Luchsinger, J. A., et al. (2015). Mediterranean diet and brain structure in a multiethnic elderly cohort. Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0000000000002121
Vancouver
Gu Y, Brickman AM, Stern Y, Habeck CG, Razlighi QR, Luchsinger JA, et al. Mediterranean diet and brain structure in a multiethnic elderly cohort. Neurology. 2015. doi:10.1212/wnl.0000000000002121. PMID: 26491085.
BibTeX
@article{gu2015-26491085,
author = {Gu, Y. and Brickman, A. M. and Stern, Y. and Habeck, C. G. and Razlighi, Q. R. and Luchsinger, J. A. and Manly, J. J. and Schupf, N. and others},
title = {{Mediterranean diet and brain structure in a multiethnic elderly cohort}},
journal = {Neurology},
year = {2015},
doi = {10.1212/wnl.0000000000002121},
pmid = {26491085},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0000000000002121}
}
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