The association between an inflammatory diet and global cognitive function and incident dementia in older women: The Women's Health Initiative Memory Study

Abstract

Introduction The Mediterranean and Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension diets have been associated with lower dementia risk. We evaluated dietary inflammatory potential in relation to mild cognitive impairment (MCI)/dementia risk. Methods Baseline food frequency questionnaires from n = 7085 women (aged 65–79 years) were used to calculate Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) scores that were categorized into four groups. Cognitive function was evaluated annually, and MCI and all-cause dementia cases were adjudicated centrally. Mixed effect models evaluated cognitive decline on over time; Cox models evaluated the risk of MCI or dementia across DII groups. Results Over an average of 9.7 years, there were 1081 incident cases of cognitive impairment. Higher DII scores were associated with greater cognitive decline and earlier onset of cognitive impairment. Adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) comparing lower (anti-inflammatory; group 1 referent) DII scores to the higher scores were group 2-HR: 1.01 (0.86–1.20); group 3-HR: 0.99 (0.82–1.18); and group 4-HR: 1.27 (1.06–1.52). Conclusions Diets with the highest pro-inflammatory potential were associated with higher risk of MCI or dementia.

An Inflammation-related Nutrient Pattern is Associated with Both Brain and Cognitive Measures in a Multiethnic Elderly Population

“…In our previous studies, we found that CRP did not seem to change the magnitude of the association between the healthy MeDi and incident AD [ 10 ], and the total inflammatory impact of foods was not associated with AD risk [ 14 ]. In contrast, findings from the current study are consistent with two more recent large studies [ 12 , 13 ], which found diets with higher pro-inflammatory potential were associated with increased risk for AD [ 13 ] or faster decline in cognition [ 12 ]. In addition to the disparities in population characteristics, study design, and methods for defining inflammatory impact of diet, the difference in the findings might be due to a couple of other reasons.…”

“…To date, only one study used RRR with interleukin-6 (IL6) as the response variable and found an IL6-related dietary pattern predicted rate of decline in reasoning cognition [ 12 ]. Two other studies used dietary inflammatory scores, based on a priori defined inflammatory impact of individual dietary components, but the results were inconsistent [ 13 , 14 ]. Moreover, despite the strong implications for brain MRI findings in preclinical AD [ 7 ], no study has examined the role of inflammation in the relation between diet and brain measures.…”

Diet and Inflammation in Cognitive Ageing and Alzheimer’s Disease

“…Emerging observational data lend support to systemic inflammation as a driver between diet and neurocognition (Table 2 ). High pro-inflammatory dietary scores have been linked with poor cognitive performance [ 91 , 94 ] and cognitive impairment [ 92 , 93 ]. Moreover, a proinflammatory dietary pattern, based on circulating IL-6 and characterised by higher intake of red meat, processed meat, peas and legumes, and fried food, and lower intake of whole grains has been associated with accelerated cognitive decline [ 89 ], while an inflammatory nutrient pattern derived from IL-6 and CRP levels and characterised by low intake of calcium, antioxidant vitamins, omega-3 and high intake of cholesterol, has been inversely associated with brain volume and cognitive function [ 90 ].…”

<p>Influencing Factors and Exercise Intervention of Cognitive Impairment in Elderly Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease</p>

“…Cognitive impairment in elderly patients with COPD is affected by various factors, including disease-specific factors such as hypoxemia, 19 hypercapnia, 20 and systemic inflammation, 21 and lifestyle factors such as diet deficiency, 22 and lack of physical activity; 23,24 Other factors, such as aging, 25 long-term smoking, 26,27 education, 28 severity, and course of the disease, 29 may lead to abnormality in the brain structure and function in COPD patients, resulting in cognitive impairment. Moreover, elderly patients with COPD varying in degrees of synergy are often accompanied by cerebrovascular disease, anxiety and depression, sleep disorders, metabolic syndrome and other complications.…”