This population-based cohort study (SNAC-K, Sweden) examined whether adherence to 3 dietary patterns — Alternate Mediterranean Diet (AMED), Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI), and reversed Empirical Dietary Inflammatory Index (rEDII) — modified dementia risk in 1,865 adults aged ≥60 years stratified by baseline blood biomarkers of AD pathology (p-tau217) and neurodegeneration (NFL, GFAP), over a mean 8.4-year follow-up (max 15.9 years).
240 participants developed dementia. Anti-inflammatory diet (rEDII) was most consistently protective across elevated-biomarker groups: each 1-SD higher rEDII was associated with HRs of 0.71 (95% CI, 0.58–0.88) for elevated p-tau217, 0.79 (0.66–0.95) for elevated NFL, and 0.73 (0.60–0.89) for elevated GFAP. AMED and AHEI showed benefit mainly in participants with *lower* biomarker levels. Restricted mean time lost analysis showed that high vs. low rEDII adherence was linked to 0.89 fewer months of dementia-free time lost over 10 years among those with elevated p-tau217.
- Observational design prevents causal inference; residual confounding cannot be excluded. - Biomarkers were measured only at baseline, so trajectory changes over follow-up are not captured. - Excluded participants were older with higher biomarker levels and more comorbidities, limiting generalizability to the oldest-old.
For patients already showing elevated AD blood biomarkers (e.g., p-tau217), counseling toward an **anti-inflammatory diet** (lower processed meat, refined grains, high-energy beverages; more vegetables, coffee, tea, wine) may reduce dementia risk beyond what Mediterranean or general healthy-eating patterns offer. This adds dietary pattern type — not just diet quality broadly — as a relevant target in high-risk patients.
Explore related topics
