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

• Published in: Alzheimer's & dementia Vol. 13; no. 11; pp. 1187 - 1196
• Main Authors: Hayden, Kathleen M, Beavers, Daniel P, Steck, Susan E, Hebert, James R, Tabung, Fred K, Shivappa, Nitin, Casanova, Ramon, Manson, JoAnn E, Padula, Claudia B, Salmoirago-Blotcher, Elena, Snetselaar, Linda G, Zaslavsky, Oleg, Rapp, Stephen R
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.11.2017
• Subjects: Aged; Cognitive decline; Cognitive Dysfunction - diagnosis; Cognitive Dysfunction - epidemiology; Cognitive Dysfunction - etiology; Dementia; Dementia - epidemiology; Dementia - etiology; Diet; Diet - adverse effects; Diet Surveys; Female; Humans; Incidence; Inflammation; Inflammation - epidemiology; Inflammation - etiology; Mild cognitive impairment; Neurology; Proportional Hazards Models; Surveys and Questionnaires; Survival analysis; Women's Health; Cognitive decline; Survival analysis; Inflammation; Diet; Mild cognitive impairment; Dementia
• ISSN: 1552-5260; 1552-5279; 1552-5279
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jalz.2017.04.004

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.