Association of Dietary Patterns with Parkinson’s Disease: A Cross-Sectional Study Based on the United States National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey Database

INTRODUCTION: Although studies have explored some dietary patterns for Parkinson's disease (PD), more other dietary patterns and food item under the dietary pattern are needed to investigate. This study aimed to identify more categories of dietary patterns for PD and further explore the association of single food item with PD. METHODS: The 2015-2018 US National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES) database was used for data extraction. The data on demographics and nutrient intake were collected. Dietary patterns were derived from food categories by factor analysis. The association between dietary patterns or single food item and PD was explored using logistic regression analysis in the overall and only in secure PD cases, and results were expressed as odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Sensitivity analysis was performed by excluding participants using unsecure PD medication. RESULTS: Among 5,824 participants aged over 50 years, 91 were diagnosed as PD. Factor analysis identified 5 major dietary pattern factors. We observed that the increased adherence to Mediterranean diet (MeDi) was associated with the reduced odds of PD (OR = 0.78, 95% CI: 0.65-0.93). The higher adherence to Western pattern was associated with the increased odds of PD (OR = 2.19, 95% CI: 1.16-4.14). In addition, high intake of sweets under Western pattern was found to be associated with the higher odds of PD (OR = 2.01, 95% CI: 1.08-3.71). CONCLUSIONS: The odds of PD decreased by higher MeDi adherence and increased by higher Western pattern adherence, especially sweets intake in this pattern, suggesting population ≥50 years should adhere to MeDi pattern and decrease the adherence to Western pattern, reducing the intake of sweets.