Eating a Healthy Diet May Help Reduce Cognitive Decline

Andrew Smyth, MMedSc, of McMaster University in Canada and the Population Health Research Institute, and colleagues, sought to determine the association of dietary factors and risk of cognitive decline in a population at high risk of cardiovascular disease.

Baseline dietary intake and measures of the Mini-Mental State Examination were recorded in 27,860 men and women who were enrolled in 2 international parallel trials of the ONTARGET (Ongoing Telmisartan Alone and in Combination with Ramipril Global Endpoint Trial) and TRANSCEND (Telmisartan Randomised Assessment Study in ACE Intolerant Subjects with Cardiovascular Disease) studies. We measured diet quality using the modified Alternative Healthy Eating Index.