Observational study: Mediterranean diet tied to 23% lower mortality in 25,000 women over 25 years
In a JAMA Network Open cohort, adherence to a Mediterranean diet was associated with lower cancer and cardiovascular death; trials on cognition give mixed results.
A long-term observation published in JAMA Network Open followed 25,000 women for 25 years, according to ad-hoc-news.de. Adherence to a Mediterranean diet was associated with 23 percent lower all-cause mortality, a 17 percent lower risk of cancer death and a 20 percent lower risk of cardiovascular death ad-hoc-news.de
ad-hoc-news.dead-hoc-news.deOpen source ↗. Study author Samia Mora of Harvard Medical School noted that the diet could reduce the risk of premature death by about a quarter.
Biological ageing and diet patterns
A study at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) in Bonn, published in Nature Communications, analysed 6,470 participants of the Rhineland Study aged 30 to 95, plus a replication group of 1,034 people from the EPIC-Potsdam study. Biological age was determined with three epigenetic clocks and about 850,000 DNA methylation sites. Ten dietary patterns, including the Mediterranean, Nordic, DASH and MIND diets, were associated with slower biological ageing.
The DASH and Nordic diets gave consistent results across all three age measures. Unhealthy plant-based diets (uPDI) and a high Dietary Inflammatory Index were linked to less favourable values. More than 70 percent of the affected biological pathways overlapped, in areas such as cell structure, cell signalling and metabolism, while the MIND diet addressed pathways specific to cognition and memory. Monique Breteler of DZNE said the effects are not massive but measurable and relevant for prevention. A causal link cannot be derived from cross-sectional data.
Cognition: mixed evidence
A systematic review in Nutrition Research covered 15 clinical studies with over 4,200 adults aged 45 and older who had memory problems or an elevated dementia risk ad-hoc-news.de
ad-hoc-news.dead-hoc-news.deOpen source ↗. Gut microbiome interventions, such as Mediterranean or ketogenic diets and probiotics, brought measurable benefits for memory and executive function, strongest in mild cognitive impairment. A review in Nutrition Reviews, based on eleven studies from 3,554 records, also found links between Mediterranean diet and better episodic memory. In a Chinese cross-sectional study of 8,681 adults aged 60 and older, a higher MIND score went with significantly better MMSE results.
A three-year comparison of 604 cognitively healthy older people with a family dementia risk found no statistically significant difference in cognitive performance or brain scans between a MIND group and a moderately calorie-reduced control group. At the University of Southern California, 2,000 mg of DHA daily given to 365 older people for two years produced no measurable cognitive benefit over placebo, as reported in eBioMedicine. Study lead Hussein Naji Yassine concluded that fish oil supplements apparently do not protect the brain, while a full Mediterranean diet may still offer benefits. Cardiologist Valentín Fuster noted that social ties and physical activity play an equally important role in Mediterranean life expectancy.
