Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38263271›Full record

ArticleAlzheimer's research & therapy2024

Diet patterns and cognitive performance in a UK Female Twin Registry (TwinsUK).

Claire T McEvoy, Amy Jennings, Claire J Steves, Alexander Macgregor, Tim Spector, Aedin Cassidy

Open access · goldAbstract readTwin Study
In one paragraph

Article in Alzheimer's research & therapy, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
2.7field-weighted citation impact, top 11% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Review
  3. Microbiome: A Key Regulator of Body-Brain Interactions.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2025
    Review
  4. Review
  5. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.

Claire T McEvoyThe Institute for Global Food Security, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK. c.mcevoy@qub.ac.uk.
Amy JenningsThe Institute for Global Food Security, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK.
Claire J StevesDepartment of Twin Research & Genetic Epidemiology, King's College London, St Thomas' Campus, London, UK.
Alexander MacgregorNorwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK.
Tim SpectorDepartment of Twin Research & Genetic Epidemiology, King's College London, St Thomas' Campus, London, UK.
Aedin CassidyThe Institute for Global Food Security, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK.
King's College London · GBQueen's University Belfast · GBGlobal Brain Health Institute · USUniversity of East Anglia · GB

Funding

Medical Research Council MR/V005030/1
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPlant-based diets may provide protection against cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease, but observational data have not been consistent. Previous studies include early life confounding from socioeconomic conditions and genetics that are known to influence both cognitive performance and diet behaviour. This study investigated associations between Mediterranean (MED) diet and MIND diets and cognitive performance accounting for shared genotype and early-life environmental exposures in female twins.

methodsDiet scores were examined in 509 female twins enrolled in TwinsUK study. The Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery was used to assess cognition at baseline and 10 years later (in n = 275). A co-twin case-control study for discordant monozygotic (MZ) twins examined effects of diet on cognitive performance independent of genetic factors. Differences in relative abundance of taxa at 10-year follow-up were explored in subsamples.

resultsEach 1-point increase in MIND or MED diet score was associated with 1.75 (95% CI: - 2.96, - 0.54, p = 0.005 and q = 0.11) and 1.67 (95% CI: - 2.71, - 0.65, p = 0.002 and q = 0.02) fewer respective errors in paired-associates learning. Within each MZ pair, the twin with the high diet score had better preservation in spatial span especially for MED diet (p = 0.02). There were no differences between diet scores and 10-year change in the other cognitive tests. MIND diet adherence was associated with higher relative abundance of Ruminococcaceae UCG-010 (0.30% (95% CI 0.17, 0.62), q = 0.05) which was also associated with less decline in global cognition over 10 years (0.22 (95% CI 0.06, 0.39), p = 0.01).

conclusionsMIND or MED diets could help to preserve some cognitive abilities in midlife, particularly episodic and visuospatial working memory. Effects may be mediated by high dietary fibre content and increased abundance of short-chain fatty acid producing gut bacteria. Longer follow-up with repeated measures of cognition will determine whether diet can influence changes in cognition occurring in older age.

Indexed as

Cognitive DysfunctionCase-Control StudiesCognitionHumansUnited KingdomCognitive performanceDietary patternsGut microbiomeTwins

Identifiers

PMID38263271
PMCPMC10804649
OpenAlexW4391143092

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.