Higher MIND Diet Scores Associated With Larger Brain MRI Hippocampal Volume

Debora Melo van Lent, PhD

A cross-sectional study presented at the 2024 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC), held July 28-August 1 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, showed that higher Mediterranean-DASH for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet scores were associated with larger hippocampal volume (HPV), but not with other brain volume measures. Investigators concluded that additional studies involving amyloid and tau PET imaging are needed to see whether the relationship between the MIND diet and dementia pathologies exists.

The data included 3130 dementia-, stroke- and other neurological disease free adults aged 65 to 74 who were enrolled in 6 notable, community-based cohorts. Each individual completed a brain MRI scan, and a validated food frequency questionnaire, 24 h dietary recall (3C0, or an extensive food list (SHIP). Using a multivariable linear regression model, higher MIND diet scores (range, 0-15) were associated with larger HPV (beta = 0.015; 95%, 0.004-0.026 cm3 per one unit MIND diet score increase) after several adjustments.

Led by Debora Melo van Lent, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Texas Health, San Antonio, multivariable linear regressions were used to related MIND diet adherence to outcomes of total brain volume (TBV), total grey matter volume (TGMV), HPV, and white matter hyperintensity volume (WHMV). Results were combined in a meta-analysis using fixed effects and random effects models.

The association between higher MIND diet scores and larger HPV were found after adjusting for age, age squared, sex, time from clinical exam to brain MRI exam, total intracranial volume, and energy intake, but not with TBV, TGMV, and WMHV. Investigators also noted that the heterogeneity between studies was low (I² = 0%; TBV, TGMV, HPV) to moderate (I² = 44%; WMHV).

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The MIND diet contains foods rich in certain vitamins, carotenoids, and flavonoids that are believed to protect the brain by reducing oxidative stress and inflammation. Although the aim of the MIND diet is on brain health, it may also benefit heart health, diabetes, and certain cancers because it includes components of the Mediterranean and DASH diets, which have been shown to lower the risk of these diseases.

Previous research from the Framingham Heart Study showed that higher MIND diet scores were associated with better cognitive performance and larger TBV at baseline, but not with cognitive decline. The study, which featured 2092 participants who completed Food Frequency Questionnaires, showed that higher scores are linked with better global cognitive function (ß = 0.03 [SD, 0.01]; P = .004), verbal memory, visual memory, processing speed, verbal comprehension/reasoning, and with larger TBV following adjustments for clinical, lifestyle, and demographic covariates, but not with other brain MRI measures.²

An additional study published in 2015 revealed that higher adherence to the MIND diet may reduce Alzheimer disease (AD) risk. In adjusted proportional hazards models, the second (HR, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.44-0.98) and highest tertiles (HR, 0.47; 95% CI, 0.26-0.76) of MIND diet scores had lower rates of AD versus tertile 1, whereas only the third tertiles of the DASH (HR, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.38-0.97) and Mediterranean (HR, 0.46; 95% CI, 0.26-0.79) diets were associated with lower AD rates.³

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REFERENCES
1. Van Lent DM, Koijs D, Bis J, et al. Higher MIND diet scores are associated with larger brain MRI hippocampal volume: the cross-cohort collaboration. Presented at: AAIC; July 28-August 1, 2024; Philadelphia, PA. ABSTRACT: 86473
2. van Lent DM, O’Donnell A, Beiser AS, et al. Mind diet adherence and cognitive performance in the Framingham Heart Study. J Alzheimers Dis. 2021;82(2):827-839; doi:10.3233/JAD-201238.
3. Morris MC, Tangney CC, Wang Y, et al. MIND diet associated with reduced incidence of Alzheimer disease. 2015;11(9):1007-14. doi:10.1016/j.jalz.2014.11009.