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Nutrition and prevention of cognitive impairment
Scarmeas N, Anastasiou CA, Yannakoulia M.. The Lancet. Neurology, 2018-09-21
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Nutrition is an important lifestyle factor that can modify the risk of future cognitive impairment and dementia. Some, but not conclusive, evidence (mostly from observational studies and infrequently from clinical trials) exists of a protective association between certain nutrients (eg, folate, flavonoids, vitamin D, and certain lipids) or food groups (eg, seafood, vegetables, and fruits, and potentially moderate alcohol and caffeine consumption) and cognitive outcomes in older people. For some nutrients and food groups, protection might be greater in individuals with either deficiencies in certain nutrients or a genetic predisposition to cognitive impairment. Identification of potentially different associations between such subgroups should be a priority for future research. At present, evidence of an association between nutrition and cognitive outcomes is somehow stronger for healthy dietary patterns, such as the Mediterranean-type diet, than for individual nutrients and food groups, possibly because of the cumulative beneficial effects of the many ingredients in these diets. Multidomain interventions (including a nutrition component) might also hold some promise for the prevention of cognitive impairment and dementia, but their effectiveness is still uncertain. Use of advanced technologies for nutrition assessment (eg, metabolomics and innovative methods of dietary intake assessment) and recently identified biomarkers of nutrition and neurobiological outcomes will be important to achieve this goal.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Scarmeas, N., Anastasiou, C. A., & Yannakoulia, M. (2018). Nutrition and prevention of cognitive impairment. The Lancet. Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1474-4422(18)30338-7
Vancouver
Scarmeas N, Anastasiou CA, Yannakoulia M. Nutrition and prevention of cognitive impairment. The Lancet. Neurology. 2018. doi:10.1016/s1474-4422(18)30338-7. PMID: 30244829.
BibTeX
@article{scarmeas2018-30244829,
author = {Scarmeas, N. and Anastasiou, C. A. and Yannakoulia, M.},
title = {{Nutrition and prevention of cognitive impairment}},
journal = {The Lancet. Neurology},
year = {2018},
doi = {10.1016/s1474-4422(18)30338-7},
pmid = {30244829},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/s1474-4422(18)30338-7}
}
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
Key findings
- For some nutrients and food groups, protection might be greater in individuals with either deficiencies in certain nutrients or a genetic predisposition to cognitive impairment.
- Identification of potentially different associations between such subgroups should be a priority for future research.
- At present, evidence of an association between nutrition and cognitive outcomes is somehow stronger for healthy dietary patterns, such as the Mediterranean-type diet, than for individual nutrients and food groups, possibly because of the cumulative beneficial effects of the many ingredients in these diets.
- Multidomain interventions (including a nutrition component) might also hold some promise for the prevention of cognitive impairment and dementia, but their effectiveness is still uncertain.
- Use of advanced technologies for nutrition assessment (eg, metabolomics and innovative methods of dietary intake assessment) and recently identified biomarkers of nutrition and neurobiological outcomes will be important to achieve this goal.
Why it matters
This review describes some, but not conclusive, evidence of a protective association between certain nutrients or food groups and cognitive outcomes in older people, mostly from observational studies. It states that evidence is somewhat stronger for healthy dietary patterns such as the Mediterranean-type diet than for individual nutrients, and that the effectiveness of multidomain interventions including a nutrition component is still uncertain.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 57/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomized / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (The Lancet. Neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | The Lancet Neurology: journal h-index 457 (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 | 2 / 5 | 2018 — within 10 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) |
| Randomized / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 608 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 5 / 5 | 60.8 citations a year over 10 year(s) since 2018 |
| Impact for its field and year | 5 / 6 | Cited 30.6× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 22 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 4 / 4 | Cited 256 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Mary Yannakoulia: h-index 62 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | Columbia University: institution h-index 1,824 (OpenAlex) |
| Multicenter collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 5 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 30244829) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 57 / 100 | — |
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