Associations of MIND diet with cognitive function in the Japanese population: the Suita Cohort Study

Background and Objectives: MIND (Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay) diet is a healthy dietary pattern combining the Mediterranean diet and DASH (the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet and reportedly beneficial for delaying cognitive decline in older populations. However, its favorable effects are reported mainly in the US populations, and it effects for the Japanese population are unknown. The objective of the present study was to investigate associations of MIND diet with cognitive function in the Suita Cohort Study. Methods: The Suita Cohort Study is following the urban-dwelling general Japanese population. A total of 1,503 participants correctly responded to questionnaire for MIND diet scoring. Among them, 103 participants (aged 75-90 years; 49% men) had recently been tested with Japanese version of Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA-J) together with regular medical check-up. Results: The average MIND scores (0-15; higher score is considered to be favorable to delay cognitive decline) were 8.93 for men and 9.69 for women. The average MoCA-J scores (the full score is 30) were 23.8 for men and 24.5 for women. Linear regression analysis demonstrated no association between MIND diet score with MoCA-J score (r = 0.139). Then, we analyzed associations between each score out of 15 dietary items of MIND diet with MoCA-J score. Five dietary items exhibited negative correlations, which were the opposite correlations observed in reported populations. For instance, frequent intake of red meat was favorable in this cohort, while less intake of red meat was favorable in previous reports. We modified MIND score using 10 dietary items, which exhibited positive correlations with MoCA-J score. Linear regression analysis demonstrated a modest but significant association between modified MIND diet score with MoCA-J score (r = 0.259, p = 0.008). Conclusions: Favorable dietary patterns to delay cognitive decline may vary depending on the population and need to be modified accordingly.