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MIND diet slows cognitive decline with aging
Morris MC, Tangney CC, Wang Y, Sacks FM, Barnes LL, Bennett DA, Aggarwal NT.. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association, 2015-06-15
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Introduction The Mediterranean and dash diets have been shown to slow cognitive decline; however, neither diet is specific to the nutrition literature on dementia prevention. Methods We devised the Mediterranean-Dietary Approach to Systolic Hypertension (DASH) diet intervention for neurodegenerative delay (MIND) diet score that specifically captures dietary components shown to be neuroprotective and related it to change in cognition over an average 4.7 years among 960 participants of the Memory and Aging Project. Results In adjusted mixed models, the MIND score was positively associated with slower decline in global cognitive score (β = 0.0092; P Discussion The study findings suggest that the MIND diet substantially slows cognitive decline with age. Replication of these findings in a dietary intervention trial would be required to verify its relevance to brain health.
Key findings
- Results In adjusted mixed models, the MIND score was positively associated with slower decline in global cognitive score (β = 0.0092; P Discussion The study findings suggest that the MIND diet substantially slows cognitive decline with age.
- Replication of these findings in a dietary intervention trial would be required to verify its relevance to brain health.
Why it matters
Among 960 participants followed about 4.7 years, a higher MIND diet score was associated with slower decline in global cognitive score. The authors say a dietary intervention trial would be required to verify whether this is relevant to brain health.
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Study details
- Participants960
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 62/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Alzheimer s & Dementia: journal h-index 228 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (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 | 1 / 5 | 2015 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 960 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) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 7 / 7 | Cited 1,105 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 5 / 5 | 85.0 citations a year over 13 year(s) since 2015 |
| Impact for its field and year | 5 / 6 | Cited 35.8× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 4 / 6 | Cited by 64 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 4 / 4 | Cited 460 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Neelum T. Aggarwal: h-index 64 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 3 / 3 | Harvard University: institution h-index 3,235 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 26086182) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 62 / 100 | — |
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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 names 7 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.
APA 7th
Morris, M. C., Tangney, C. C., Wang, Y., Sacks, F. M., Barnes, L. L., Bennett, D. A., et al. (2015). MIND diet slows cognitive decline with aging. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jalz.2015.04.011
Vancouver
Morris MC, Tangney CC, Wang Y, Sacks FM, Barnes LL, Bennett DA, et al. MIND diet slows cognitive decline with aging. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association. 2015. doi:10.1016/j.jalz.2015.04.011. PMID: 26086182.
BibTeX
@article{morris2015-26086182,
author = {Morris, M. C. and Tangney, C. C. and Wang, Y. and Sacks, F. M. and Barnes, L. L. and Bennett, D. A. and Aggarwal, N. T.},
title = {{MIND diet slows cognitive decline with aging}},
journal = {Alzheimer's \& dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association},
year = {2015},
doi = {10.1016/j.jalz.2015.04.011},
pmid = {26086182},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jalz.2015.04.011}
}
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