The DASH diet is believed to impact cognitive function through several potential mechanisms, including the provision of essential nutrients and bioactive substances in vegetables, fruits, legumes, and nuts that have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties and may reduce brain oxidative stress, promote neurogenesis, and enhance neuronal connectivity.
A recent study published in Alzheimer's and Dementia has concluded that adherence to the DASH diet in mid-life is associated with a lower incidence of subjective cognitive complaints (SCCs) in later life among women. This indicates that improving diet quality, particularly concerning hypertension and cardiovascular profile, may play a role in preserving cognitive function among women.
There needs to be more data available on the role of mid-life Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet in late-life SCCs. This background was studied in the present study. The study had 5116 women of mean age 46 years from the New York University Women's Health Study, and SCCs were assessed from 2018-2020 by a 6-item questionnaire.
The key results of the study are:
Compared to women in the bottom quartile of the DASH scores, the odds ratio (OR) for having two or more SCCs was 0.83 for women in the top quartile of DASH scores at baseline.
The association was similar with multiple imputation and inverse probability weighting to account for potential selection bias.
Among women without a cancer history, the inverse association was stronger.
They said that greater adherence to the DASH diet in mid-life lowers the prevalence of late-life SCCs in women.
Study strengths include large sample size, diverse study population, the prospective study design, the inclusion of middle-aged women, long-term follow-up and the availability of detailed longitudinal data on lifestyle and comorbidities.
Reference:
Song, Y., Wu, F., Sharma, S. et al. Mid‐life adherence to the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet and late‐life subjective cognitive complaints in women. Alzheimer's & Dementia. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.13468