MIND not Mediterranean diet related to 12‐year incidence of cognitive impairment in an Australian longitudinal cohort study

Abstract Introduction Associations between the Mediterranean‐DASH diet Intervention for Neurological Delay (MIND) diet and incidence of cognitive impairment have not been evaluated outside the United States. Methods We investigated MIND and Mediterranean diet relations with 12‐year incidence of Alzheimer's disease/Vascular dementia (National Institute of Neurological Disorders criteria) and mild cognitive impairment (Winbald criteria) in the Personality and Total Health (PATH) Through Life cohort (n = 1220) set in Canberra, Australia: wave‐1 2001‐2002; wave‐2 2005‐2006; wave‐3 2009‐2010; and wave‐4 2013‐2014. MIND diet and two alternate Mediterranean diet scores were calculated from the baseline food frequency questionnaire responses. Higher dietary scores signified greater adherence. Results In adjusted logistic regression models, MIND diet (OR = 0.47, 95% CI 0.24, 0.91), but not Mediterranean diet, was associated with reduced odds of 12‐year cognitive impairment. Discussion Preliminary evidence suggests that protective effects of the MIND diet are geographically generalizable. Additional prospective studies are needed in diverse samples to determine the relative effects of the MIND and the Mediterranean diets against cognitive decline.