Dementia Incidence Linked to Inflammatory Foods

 Do you really think your competent? doctor knows of this and gets the dietician to create diet protocols with this in mind? I doubt it.

Do you prefer your doctor and hospital incompetence NOT KNOWING OR NOT DOING?

But your competent? doctor has known of this for years! Why haven't they been fired for incompetence?

Dementia Linked to Inflammatory Foods November 2021

Brain Aging Markers Tied to Inflammatory Foods  May 2022

The latest here:

Dementia Incidence Linked to Inflammatory Foods

Study assessed diet at three time points over 10 years

by Judy George, Deputy Managing Editor, MedPage Today December 13, 2024

Key Takeaways

• Diets higher in inflammatory foods were linked to increased dementia risk in older adults.
• Risks were higher for both all-cause dementia and Alzheimer's dementia.
• The study tracked Dietary Inflammatory Index scores measured at three time points over 10 years.

Diets higher in inflammatory foods were tied to an increased incidence of dementia in older adults, longitudinal data from the Framingham Heart Study Offspring cohort showed.

Over 13 years of follow-up, higher Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) scores averaged across three time points were linearly associated with an increased incidence of all-cause dementia (HR 1.21, 95% CI 1.10-1.33, P<0.001), reported Debora Melo van Lent, PhD, of UT Health San Antonio in Texas, and co-authors.

Similarly, higher DII scores were linearly associated with an increase in Alzheimer's disease dementia (HR 1.20, 95% CI 1.07-1.34, P=0.002), the researchers reported in Alzheimer's & Dementiaopens in a new tab or window. Findings were adjusted for demographic, lifestyle, and clinical covariates.

"Although these promising findings need to be replicated and further validated, our results suggest that diets that correlate with low DII scores may prevent late-life dementia," van Lent and colleagues noted.

Previous cross-sectional researchopens in a new tab or window from the Framingham Heart Study Offspring cohort showed that higher DII scores -- indicating more pro-inflammatory foods consumed -- correlated with smaller total brain and gray matter volumes and larger lateral ventricular volume.

Other cohort studies, including a 3-year study in Greeceopens in a new tab or window, tied diets with high inflammatory potential to an increased risk of incident dementia. And clinical trial data showed the MIND dietopens in a new tab or window -- a hybrid of the Mediterranean diet and the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet that is rich in anti-inflammatory foods -- had a similar effect on cognition and brain MRI outcomes as mild caloric restriction over 3 years, possibly due to high adherence of the control group to lifestyle advice.

However, there's limited information about the long-term relationship between diet-driven inflammation and incident dementia, van Lent and co-authors noted.

The researchers evaluated 1,487 participants in the Framingham Heart Study Offspringopens in a new tab or window study who were age 60 or older at baseline with no prevalent dementia. More than half (53%) were women, and mean baseline age was 69. About 22% carried an APOE4 allele.

DII scoresopens in a new tab or window were calculated using the 126-item Harvard semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire, which was administered at three points over 10 years from 1991 to 2001.

The DII used in the analysis consisted of 36 dietary components including nutrients, whole foods, and caffeine from food intake. Components were categorized as anti-inflammatory or pro-inflammatory.

Anti-inflammatory components included alcohol, beta-carotene, caffeine, dietary fiber, folic acid, magnesium, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, zinc, monounsaturated fat, polyunsaturated fat, omega-3 fat, omega-6 fat, selenium, flavan-3-ol, flavones, flavonols, flavanones, anthocyanidins, green or black tea, pepper, garlic, and vitamins B6, A, C, D, and E.

The mean DII score was -0.30, indicating that participants' diets were anti-inflammatory, on average. DII scores were grouped into quartiles. Education, body mass index, total energy intake, and smoking status varied across the four groups.

Follow-up was a maximum of 22.3 years and a mean of 12.8 years. In that span, 246 participants developed all-cause dementia, mostly Alzheimer's dementia (187 people). There were no significant interactions between DII scores and APOE4, sex, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, or cardiovascular disease in relation to incident all-cause and Alzheimer's dementia, the researchers noted.

"The most pro-inflammatory components of the DII (i.e., saturated fat, trans fats, and total energy intake) are present in the pro-inflammatory 'Western diet' -- a summary term for dietary patterns consumed in Western societies -- which has shown an association with increased concentrations of biomarkers of systemic inflammation and risk factors of all-cause and Alzheimer's disease dementia, and also with neurodegenerative disease-related outcomes," they wrote. "Western diets having inflammatory potential especially known to be pro-inflammatory may have enormous implications for preventive dietary interventions."

The study had several limitations, van Lent and colleagues acknowledged. Its design was observational and the study cannot show causality. The findings relied on food frequency questionnaire data that may have measurement error or recall bias. In the Framingham Heart Study Offspring study, only 36 of 45 possible DII components could be assessed.

The DII was created based on studies of micro- and macronutrients and bioactive compounds in relation to inflammatory markers, not specific disease outcomes. "A limitation of this approach is that some individual DII components may have an opposite effect on the health outcome under study," the researchers pointed out. "For example, vitamin B12 is considered pro-inflammatory in the DII score, but the vitamin has been hypothesized to be protective for dementia risk."

• Judy George covers neurology and neuroscience news for MedPage Today, writing about brain aging, Alzheimer’s, dementia, MS, rare diseases, epilepsy, autism, headache, stroke, Parkinson’s, ALS, concussion, CTE, sleep, pain, and more. Follow

Disclosures

The Framingham Heart Study is supported by the NIH. This analysis was supported by the Alzheimer's Association, the NIH, and other groups.

van Lent disclosed that she is the chair of the Alzheimer's Association ISTAART Nutrition Metabolism and Dementia professional interest area.

Co-authors reported relationships with AbbVie, Isaac Health, and the Danone North America Essential Dairy and Plant-Based Advisory Board.

Primary Source

Alzheimer's & Dementia

Source Reference: opens in a new tab or windowvan Lent DM, et al "Association between Dietary Inflammatory Index score and incident dementia" Alzheimer's Dement 2024; DOI: 10.1002/alz.14390.

Brain Aging Markers Tied to Inflammatory Foods

 Way too generic to be useful at all. I expect your doctor and hospital to have EXACT DIET PROTOCOLS.

We need protocols for all these:

For stroke prevention; for dementia prevention; for cognitive improvement; for cholesterol reduction; for plaque removal; for Parkinsons prevention; for inflammation reduction; for blood pressure reduction. 

THIS IS YOUR DOCTOR'S RESPONSIBILITY! Why are you giving them a pass? Guidelines don't count.

Brain Aging Markers Tied to Inflammatory Foods

Smaller brain volume seen with diet-driven inflammation

by Judy George, Senior Staff Writer, MedPage Today May 13, 2022

Diets high in inflammatory foods were linked with global markers of brain aging and cerebral small vessel disease on MRI, a cross-sectional study showed.

Compared with anti-inflammatory diets, those considered pro-inflammatory on the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) were associated with smaller total brain volume (beta -0.16, P<0.0001) after adjusting for demographic, clinical, and lifestyle covariates, according to epidemiologist Debora Melo van Lent, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher at UT Health San Antonio in Texas, and co-authors.

Higher DII scores -- indicating more pro-inflammatory foods -- were also associated with smaller total gray matter volume (beta -0.08, P=0.003) and larger lateral ventricular volume (beta 0.04, P=0.03), the researchers reported in Alzheimer's & Dementia. No associations were seen with other brain MRI measures.

"Systemic inflammatory processes in the body, including the brain, can be influenced by diet, leading to its important contributory role in brain aging," the researchers observed.

"In our study we found evidence of an association between DII scores and global markers of brain volumes and vascular brain injury, which are early markers of dementia," they wrote. "Moreover, previous studies have shown associations between the DII and risk factors of dementia. Our findings indicate potential for prevention by dietary modification."

The DII index used in the study consisted of 31 dietary components including anti-inflammatory nutrients, pro-inflammatory nutrients, whole foods, and caffeine from food intake. Dietary components were categorized as:

• Anti-inflammatory: alcohol, beta carotene, caffeine, dietary fiber, folic acid, magnesium, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, zinc, monounsaturated fat, polyunsaturated fat, omega-3 fat, omega-6 fat, selenium, vitamins B6, A, C, D, E, green/black tea, pepper, and garlic
• Pro-inflammatory: vitamin B12, iron, carbohydrates, cholesterol, total energy intake, protein, saturated fat, and total fat

In previous research, diets with high inflammatory potential had been tied to dementia or cognitive impairment, but there's limited research about diet-driven inflammation and early MRI markers of neurodegeneration and vascular brain damage, Melo van Lent and co-authors said.

"The relationship between the energy-adjusted DII and structural MRI outcomes of brain aging has been investigated only once in a small study sample; no significant relationships were found," they wrote.

Melo van Lent and colleagues studied 1,897 participants in the Framingham Heart Study Offspring cohort who completed food frequency questionnaires and underwent brain MRI scans. Food frequency questionnaire data were collected several times over a decade and DII scores were averaged over a mean period of 7 years.

Participants had an average baseline age of 62 years; about 54% were women and 23% carried an apolipoprotein E ε4 (APOE4) allele. People with prevalent dementia, stroke, or significant neurological disease were excluded.

The mean DII score was -0.26, indicating that diets in the group on average were anti-inflammatory relative to the global mean in the DII world database. Overall, higher DII scores were not associated with regional markers of brain aging, but some results differed by APOE4 status and sex. DII scores were associated with smaller hippocampal volume in people with no APOE 4 allele and with larger white-matter hyperintensity volume in men.

The most pro-inflammatory components of the Dietary Inflammatory Index -- saturated fat, trans fats, and total energy intake -- also contribute to worse vascular health when consumed in abundance, the researchers noted.

"Fortunately, replacement of saturated fats with other macronutrients, such as polyunsaturated fats (i.e., anti-inflammatory), has been related to a reduced risk for cardiovascular disease, offering a promising opportunity for reducing risk for dementia," they wrote.

The analyses had several limitations, Melo van Lent and co-authors acknowledged. It relied on food frequency questionnaires, which are subject to measurement error and recall bias. In addition, the study population consisted of white individuals of European ancestry and results may not apply to other groups.

"Replication studies are needed across diverse populations," they wrote. "In addition, research should investigate the impact of the DII across different subgroups at risk for dementia, including persons who are carriers/non-carriers of the apolipoprotein E ε4 gene, and men and women."

• Judy George covers neurology and neuroscience news for MedPage Today, writing about brain aging, Alzheimer’s, dementia, MS, rare diseases, epilepsy, autism, headache, stroke, Parkinson’s, ALS, concussion, CTE, sleep, pain, and more. Follow

Disclosures

This study was supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the National Institute on Aging, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders, the Agricultural Research Service Agreement, and the ASPEN Rhoads Research Foundation.

Melo van Lent is vice-chair of the Alzheimer's Association ISTAART Nutrition Metabolism and Dementia Professional Interest Area.

One co-author is part of the Danone North America Essential Dairy and Plant-Based Advisory Board.

Primary Source

Alzheimer's & Dementia

Source Reference: Melo van Lent D, et al "Higher Dietary Inflammatory Index scores are associated with brain MRI markers of brain aging: Results from the Framingham Heart Study Offspring cohort" Alzheimer's Dement 2022; DOI: 10.1002/alz.12685.

 

Dementia Linked to Inflammatory Foods

Since they don't give you the scoring it is useless for laypersons.

Dementia Linked to Inflammatory Foods

Three times greater risk of dementia tied to diets low in fruit, vegetables, legumes

by Judy George, Senior Staff Writer, MedPage Today November 12, 2021

Diets with higher inflammatory potential were tied to an increased risk of incident dementia, a prospective observational study showed.

Each unit increase in dietary inflammatory index scores was associated with a 21% higher risk of dementia over 3 years (HR 1.21, 95% CI 1.03-1.42, P=0.023), reported Nikolaos Scarmeas, MD, PhD, of Columbia University in New York City and the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Medical School in Greece, and co-authors.

Compared with participants with the lowest inflammatory diet scores, those with the highest scores were three times more likely to develop incident dementia (HR 3.01, 95% CI 1.24-7.26, P=0.014), the researchers wrote in Neurology.

"A diet with a more anti-inflammatory content seems to be related to lower risk for developing dementia within the following 3 years," Scarmeas told MedPage Today. Available dementia treatments are not very effective, he said -- "it's quite important that we find some measures to partially prevent it."

"Diet might play a role in combating inflammation, one of the biological pathways contributing to risk for dementia and cognitive impairment later in life," he added.

Evidence suggests certain foods, nutrients, and non-nutrient food components can modulate inflammatory status acutely and chronically. Earlier prospective research looked at dietary inflammatory potential and cognitive decline only in women, not in both sexes, the researchers noted.

Scarmeas and co-authors analyzed data from 1,059 older adults in the Hellenic Longitudinal Investigation of Aging and Diet (HELIAD), a population-based study that investigates associations between nutrition and age-related cognition in Greece. People with dementia at baseline were excluded from the analysis.

Participants had a mean baseline age of 73.1 and a mean 8.2 years of education; 40.3% were men. Dietary intake was evaluated through a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire validated for the Greek population and administered by a trained dietitian.

Foods and nutrients associated with the inflammatory biomarkers interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-4, IL-6, L-10, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and C-reactive protein in other studies were assigned a value and tallied to obtain a diet inflammatory index score. Higher dietary inflammatory index scores indicated a more inflammatory diet.

People in the first tertile had the lowest scores (-5.83 to -1.76, indicating a more anti-inflammatory diet), which represented about 20 servings of fruit, 19 of vegetables, four of legumes, and 11 of coffee or tea a week, on average. People in the third tertile had the highest scores (0.21 to 6.01) and a more pro-inflammatory diet, with a weekly average of nine servings of fruit, 10 of vegetables, two of legumes, and nine of coffee or tea.

Over an average follow-up of 3.05 years, 62 people were diagnosed with dementia. Higher dietary inflammatory index scores correlated with higher dementia risk. A gradual risk increase across higher tertiles suggested a dose-response relationship between the inflammatory potential of diet and incident dementia, Scarmeas and co-authors observed.

The relatively short follow-up period in this study raised the possibility of reverse causality, but further analysis showed the findings were not moderated by the presence of mild cognitive impairment at baseline.

Food frequency questionnaires may be subject to measurement error, the researchers acknowledged. Data about some dietary components, including eugenol, ginger, onion, turmeric, garlic, oregano, pepper, rosemary, and saffron, were not available. In addition, serum levels of inflammatory biomarkers were not obtained.

"Our results are getting us closer to characterizing and measuring the inflammatory potential of people's diets," Scarmeas said. "That, in turn, could help inform more tailored and precise dietary recommendations and other strategies to maintain cognitive health."

• Judy George covers neurology and neuroscience news for MedPage Today, writing about brain aging, Alzheimer’s, dementia, MS, rare diseases, epilepsy, autism, headache, stroke, Parkinson’s, ALS, concussion, CTE, sleep, pain, and more. Follow

Disclosures

The study was supported by the Alzheimer's Association, the European Social Fund, and the Greek Ministry of Health and Social Solidarity.

Scarmeas reported personal fees from Merck Consumer Health, Eisai, and NIH. Co-authors had no disclosures.

Primary Source

Neurology

Source Reference: Charisis S, et al "Diet inflammatory index and dementia incidence: a population-based study" Neurology 2021; DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000012973.