Mixed
Higher adherence to a Mediterranean diet is associated with slower cognitive decline on the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) in elderly individuals, but this benefit does not extend to the risk of incident dementia or performance on other specific cognitive tests (IST, BVRT, FCSRT).
For older adults, maintaining a Mediterranean-style diet (high in plants, olive oil, fish; low in meat/dairy) may help preserve global cognitive function (as measured by MMSE) over time. However, it should not be relied upon to prevent dementia diagnosis. The benefits appear to be modest and specific to certain cognitive measures, likely acting during the long pre-clinical phase of aging rather than treating active disease.
Higher adherence to a Mediterranean-type diet was associated with slower MMSE cognitive decline but not consistently with other cognitive tests. Higher adherence was not associated with risk for incident dementia.
Why this rating
Prospective cohort study with rigorous adjustment for confounders, but observational design limits causal inference and statistical power for dementia incidence was low (45%).
Source
Adherence to a Mediterranean Diet, Cognitive Decline, and Risk of Dementia
Catherine Féart · JAMA · 2009
DOI 10.1001/jama.2009.1146
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