The Mediterranean Diet and Cognitive Function among Healthy Older Adults in a 6-Month Randomised Controlled Trial: The MedLey Study

Evidence from a limited number of randomised controlled intervention trials (RCTs) have shown that a Mediterranean dietary pattern may reduce the risk of cognitive decline and enhance cognitive function among healthy older adults. However, there are currently no data in non-Mediterranean older adult...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nutrients 2016-09, Vol.8 (9), p.579
Main Authors: Knight, Alissa, Bryan, Janet, Wilson, Carlene, Hodgson, Jonathan M, Davis, Courtney R, Murphy, Karen J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
cognitive function
Mediterranean diet
older adults
randomised controlled trial
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Evidence from a limited number of randomised controlled intervention trials (RCTs) have shown that a Mediterranean dietary pattern may reduce the risk of cognitive decline and enhance cognitive function among healthy older adults. However, there are currently no data in non-Mediterranean older adult populations. The present study aimed to address this gap by examining the effect of a Mediterranean dietary pattern (MedDiet) for six months on aspects of cognitive function in a randomised controlled intervention trial (the MedLey study) that extended for a duration of 18 months. In the final analysed cohort, a total of 137 men and women (mean age of 72.1 ± 5.0 years) randomly assigned to either a MedDiet or control diet (HabDiet) (i.e., habitual dietary intake), were assessed on a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery, including 11 individual tests. In multivariable-adjusted models, the MedDiet group did not perform significantly better than the HabDiet control group for executive functioning (adjusted mean differences: +2.53, 95% CI -2.59 to 7.65, = 0.33); speed of processing (adjusted mean differences: +3.24, 95% CI -1.21 to 7.70, = 0.15); memory (adjusted mean differences: +2.00, 95% CI -3.88 to 7.88, = 0.50); visual-spatial ability (adjusted mean differences: +0.21, 95% CI -0.38 to 0.81, 0.48); and overall age-related cognitive performance (adjusted mean differences: +7.99, 95% CI -4.00 to 19.9, = 0.19). In conclusion, this study did not find evidence of a beneficial effect of a MedDiet intervention on cognitive function among healthy older adults.
ISSN:2072-6643
2072-6643
DOI:10.3390/nu8090579