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The association between the MIND diet and cognitive health in middle-aged and older adults: A systematic review
Jenny Hiu Wai Tse, Queenie Pui Sze Law, Jenny Tsun Yee Tsang, Lorna Kwai Ping Suen, Stefanos Tyrovolas, Rick Yiu Cho Kwan. The journal of nutrition, health & aging, 2025-07-10
Topic: Brain imaging, connectivity and assessment
The search over five databases identified 898 articles, with 26 meeting the inclusion criteria. A hand search added 13 more, totaling 39 articles from 14 countries, including cohorts, cross-sectional, RCTs, and case-control studies. Most studies were conducted in the United States of America (USA), published between 2015 and 2024. Participant numbers ranged from 37 to 120,661, with follow-ups from 3 months to 24 years. Some studies explored more than one correlation. Of the studies, 14 out of 19 articles explored MIND diet adherence and global cognitive function, showing positive results. 10 out of 11 studies investigated MIND diet adherence and dementia/Alzheimer's risk, showing positive associations. 16 out of 18 articles examined the MIND diet's effect on domain-specific cognitive functions, with favorable outcomes. This systematic review reveals the significant promise of the MIND diet in enhancing cognitive health, specifically in global cognition, memory, and executive function. While observational studies strongly advocate for its inclusion in clinical guidelines to prevent and manage Alzheimer's disease (AD) and dementia, results from RCTs are mixed, suggesting further investigation is needed. The use of PRISMA and SWiM guidelines ensures robust and transparent findings, categorizing cognitive outcomes into critical areas for a holistic insight. Despite the effectiveness of alternative methods, such as MIND diet questionnaires, for adherence assessment apart from FFQ, variability in study populations, interventions, and scoring methods complicates pinpointing an optimal MIND score. This underscores the importance of standardized methodologies to refine dietary recommendations and consolidate the diet's cognitive health benefits across various populations.
Key findings
- The search over five databases identified 898 articles, with 26 meeting the inclusion criteria.
- A hand search added 13 more, totaling 39 articles from 14 countries, including cohorts, cross-sectional, RCTs, and case-control studies.
- Most studies were conducted in the United States of America (USA), published between 2015 and 2024.
- Participant numbers ranged from 37 to 120,661, with follow-ups from 3 months to 24 years.
- Some studies explored more than one correlation.
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Study details
- Study designsystematic review
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 71/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a systematic review of all the studies on the question. Scored zero for sample size, effect reported and studied in people 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, multi-centre collaboration and free to read, so those were left out: it earned 40 of the 56 points we could judge it on, which is 71 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (The journal of nutrition, health & aging) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 12 / 12 | A systematic review of all the studies on the question |
| Strength of evidence | 5 / 5 | Rated “high” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 4 / 5 | 2025 — within 3 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 | A review of other studies — randomisation is not credited here |
| 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 40644764) |
| Free to read | — / 2 | Access not recorded — left out of this score |
| Points | 40 / 56 | Scored on 10 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 40 of the 56 points we could judge it on is 71 out of 100. |
| Total | 71 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
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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. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Tse, J. H. W., Law, Q. P. S., Tsang, J. T. Y., Suen, L. K. P., Tyrovolas, S., & Kwan, R. Y. C. (2025). The association between the MIND diet and cognitive health in middle-aged and older adults: A systematic review. The journal of nutrition, health & aging. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnha.2025.100630
Vancouver
Tse JHW, Law QPS, Tsang JTY, Suen LKP, Tyrovolas S, Kwan RYC. The association between the MIND diet and cognitive health in middle-aged and older adults: A systematic review. The journal of nutrition, health & aging. 2025. doi:10.1016/j.jnha.2025.100630. PMID: 40644764.
BibTeX
@article{tse2025-40644764,
author = {Tse, Jenny Hiu Wai and Law, Queenie Pui Sze and Tsang, Jenny Tsun Yee and Suen, Lorna Kwai Ping and Tyrovolas, Stefanos and Kwan, Rick Yiu Cho},
title = {{The association between the MIND diet and cognitive health in middle-aged and older adults: A systematic review}},
journal = {The journal of nutrition, health \& aging},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1016/j.jnha.2025.100630},
pmid = {40644764},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnha.2025.100630}
}
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