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MIND diet moderates the associations between cerebrovascular and neurodegenerative disease burden and cognition
Desarae A. Dempsey, Frederick W. Unverzagt, Huiping Xu, Lyndsi R. Moser, Sujuan Gao, Andrea Avena‐Koenigsberger, Evgeny J. Chumin, Karmen K. Yoder et al.. Frontiers in Nutrition, 2026-05-13
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Introduction The Mediterranean-Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet is associated with reduced dementia risk, but its role in moderating pathology–cognition relationships in high-risk populations remains unclear. This study examined associations of the MIND diet and Healthy Eating Index (HEI) with cognition and tested whether diet quality modifies the impact of brain pathology on cognitive performance. Methods Sixty-six older adults (aged 60–82 years; mean education of 12 years, 65% Black, 73% female) completed MRI and the VioScreen food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Multivariable linear regression models examined associations between diet scores (MIND, HEI-2020) and cognitive outcomes (cognition composite, memory, executive function), adjusting for age, sex, and education level. Interaction analyses cross-sectionally tested whether diet moderated relationships between structural brain pathology–white matter hyperintensity (WMH), hippocampal, and cortical volumes–and cognition, followed by post-hoc simple slopes analyses. Results Higher MIND diet scores were independently associated with better memory performance ( p 0.05). Similarly, cortical volume–cognition associations were present in those with low MIND diet scores and attenuated in those with mean or high scores. In contrast, the HEI-2020 score did not modify the effects of brain pathology on cognition, and neither diet quality measure modified hippocampal volume–cognition relationships. Conclusion The MIND diet may buffer the cognitive consequences of cerebrovascular pathology and cortical atrophy in older adults at elevated dementia risk and promote cognitive resilience over general healthy eating guidelines.
Key findings
- Introduction The Mediterranean-Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet is associated with reduced dementia risk, but its role in moderating pathology–cognition relationships in high-risk populations remains unclear.
- Results Higher MIND diet scores were independently associated with better memory performance ( p 0.05).
Why it matters
In this cross-sectional study of 66 older adults, higher MIND diet scores were linked to better memory performance, and the MIND diet appeared to weaken the link between brain pathology and cognition. This suggests the MIND diet may help protect thinking skills even when brain disease is present, though the study cannot prove cause and effect.
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Study details
- Study designpost-hoc analysis
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 38/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Frontiers in Nutrition) |
| Journal's citation record | 1 / 4 | Frontiers in Nutrition: journal h-index 147 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | Design recorded as “post-hoc analysis”, which our rubric does not rank (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 5 / 5 | 2026 — within 1 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 | 1 / 7 | Cited 3 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 1 / 5 | 1.5 citations a year over 2 year(s) since 2026 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 19.1× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 3 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 0 / 4 | Last-listed author Shannon L. Risacher: h-index 2 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Indiana University: institution h-index 926 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 6 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 42211091) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 38 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
- DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2026.1837406
- PubMed: 42211091
- Original source →
- Free full text: Frontiers in Nutrition →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
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
Dempsey, D. A., Unverzagt, F. W., Xu, H., Moser, L. R., Gao, S., Avena‐Koenigsberger, A., et al. (2026). MIND diet moderates the associations between cerebrovascular and neurodegenerative disease burden and cognition. Frontiers in Nutrition. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2026.1837406
Vancouver
Dempsey DA, Unverzagt FW, Xu H, Moser LR, Gao S, Avena‐Koenigsberger A, et al. MIND diet moderates the associations between cerebrovascular and neurodegenerative disease burden and cognition. Frontiers in Nutrition. 2026. doi:10.3389/fnut.2026.1837406. PMID: 42211091.
BibTeX
@article{dempsey2026-42211091,
author = {Dempsey, Desarae A. and Unverzagt, Frederick W. and Xu, Huiping and Moser, Lyndsi R. and Gao, Sujuan and Avena‐Koenigsberger, Andrea and Chumin, Evgeny J. and Yoder, Karmen K. and others},
title = {{MIND diet moderates the associations between cerebrovascular and neurodegenerative disease burden and cognition}},
journal = {Frontiers in Nutrition},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.3389/fnut.2026.1837406},
pmid = {42211091},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2026.1837406}
}
Studies this one cites
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