Comparison of Associations between MIND and Mediterranean Diet Scores with Patient-Reported Outcomes in Parkinson’s Disease

Abstract

The Mediterranean (MEDI) and Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diets have been associated with a reduced risk of Parkinson’s disease (PD) diagnosis. However, studies evaluating whether these diets are associated with disease progression in those patients already diagnosed are lacking. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether MIND and MEDI scores were associated with improved patient-reported outcomes. Additionally, we sought to explore which questions on the MIND and MEDI scales were more strongly correlated with PD symptom severity. Data were obtained from the ongoing Modifiable Variables in Parkinsonism study, using patient-reported outcomes in Parkinson’s disease (PRO-PD) as the primary measure for symptom severity, and MIND and MEDI scales for diet score. After adjusting for age, gender, income, and years since diagnosis, for each 1-point increase in the MIND and MEDI scores, PRO-PD scores were 52.9 points lower (95%CI: −66.4, −39.4; p < 0.001) and 25.6 points lower (95%CI: −37.2, −14.0; p < 0.001), respectively (N = 1205). This study suggests MIND and MEDI scores are associated with fewer patient-reported symptoms over time, with each MIND point being twice as strong as a MEDI point in reducing symptom severity. Future dietary intervention trials should consider the MIND diet as a therapeutic strategy for improving long-term PD outcomes.

The gastrointestinal tract and Parkinson’s disease

“…The PRO-PD score significantly decreased by 25.6 points per one point increase in Mediterranean diet score and by 52.9 points per point increase in MIND diet score. Thus, while both diets decreased the severity of PD symptoms, the benefit of the MIND diet was more robust which was consistent with prior studies ( Fox et al., 2022 ).…”

WITHDRAWN: Association between dietary inflammatory index and Parkinson’s disease from NHANES (2003–2018): a cross-sectional study

“…An inappropriate dietary pattern is closely related to increased in ammatory factors in PD, which are often caused by oxidative stress and chronic neuroin ammation [5,6] . There has been some research suggesting that a Western diet increases in ammation factors, which are associated with a higher risk of PD, while Mediterranean diets are associated with lower ones, which have protective effects against PD onset and progression [6][7][8][9][10] . It is an effective method for measuring a diet's in ammatory potential known as the Dietary In ammation Index [5,11] .…”

The Role of Diet in Parkinson’s Disease

“…The MIND diet combines principles from the MeDi and Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension diet, originally developed to reduce cognitive decline [26]. The MIND encourages leafy greens, bean and berry consumption and discourages cheese, butter and margarine intake [27]. A longitudinal study of 706 aging American adults found that MIND diet adherence was associated with reduced incidence and slower progression of parkinsonism relative to MeDi diet adherence [28], while a Canadian crosssectional study found that MIND diet adherence was associated with a higher age at PD onset of up to 17.4 years (p < 0.001) specifically in females [18].…”