Mediterranean diet associated with a lower risk for Alzheimers disease
Oct 11, 2006 - 4:51:00 AM
, Reviewed by: Himanshu Tyagi
|
|
|
This could be the result of either other biological mechanisms (oxidative or inflammatory) being implicated or measurement error of the vascular variables
|
By Archives of Neurology,
[RxPG] Eating a Mediterranean diet, which emphasizes fruits, vegetables and olive oil and includes little red meat, is associated with a lower risk for Alzheimers disease, according to an article posted online today that will appear in the December 2006 print issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. This association persisted even when researchers considered whether individuals had vascular diseasesdiseases of the blood vessels, such as stroke, heart disease and diabetessuggesting that the diet may work through different pathways to reduce Alzheimers disease risk.
The Mediterranean diet consists of high amounts of fruits, vegetables, legumes, cereals and fish, mild to moderate amounts of alcohol and low amounts of red meat and dairy products, according to background information in the article. This diet has been associated with a lower risk for several diseases and risk factors, including cancer, obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, problems with processing glucose that may lead to diabetes, coronary heart disease and overall death.
Nikolaos Scarmeas, M.D., and colleagues at Columbia University, New York, studied whether the Mediterranean diet could also help prevent Alzheimers diseasea debilitating neurodegenerative diseasein a group of 1,984 adults with an average age of 76.3. The participants, 194 of whom already had Alzheimers disease and 1,790 of whom did not, were given complete physical and neurological examinations and a series of tests of brain function. Their diet over the previous year was analyzed and scored based on how closely it adhered to the principles of the Mediterranean dietscores ranged from zero to nine, with higher scores indicating eating patterns that aligned closely with the Mediterranean diet. The researchers obtained information about vascular disease diagnoses from the exams, participants or relatives reports and medical records.
Eating a diet that closely followed the Mediterranean model was associated with a significantly lower risk for Alzheimers disease. For each additional unit on the diet score, risk for Alzheimers disease decreased by 19 to 24 percent. After the researchers considered other factors that could influence Alzheimers disease risk, including age and body mass index, those who were in the top one-third of the diet scores had 68 percent lower odds of having Alzheimers disease than those in the bottom one-third, and those in the middle-one third had 53 percent lower odds.
Growing evidence links the Mediterranean diet to a reduced risk for vascular disease and suggests that vascular risk factors may contribute to the risk for Alzheimers disease, the authors write. Thus, vascular variables are likely to be in the causal pathway between the Mediterranean diet and Alzheimers disease and should be considered as possible mediators, they continue. However, when we considered vascular risk factors in our models, the association between the Mediterranean diet and Alzheimers disease did not change. This was the case despite our attempt to capture vascular comorbidity in the most complete possible way by simultaneously considering both a long list and alternative definitions of vascular variables.
This could be the result of either other biological mechanisms (oxidative or inflammatory) being implicated or measurement error of the vascular variables, the authors conclude.
Advertise in this space for $10 per month.
Contact us today.
|
 |
|
Subscribe to Alzheimer's Newsletter
|
|
|
|
Additional information about the news article
|
This study was supported by grants from the National Institute on Aging; the Charles S. Robertson Memorial Gift for Research in Alzheimers Disease; the Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller Foundation; the New York City Council Speakers Fund for Public Health Research; and the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimers Disease and the Aging Brain.
|
|
Feedback
|
For any corrections of factual information, to contact the editors or to send
any medical news or health news press releases, use
feedback form
|
Top of Page
|
