ArticleEuropean journal of epidemiology2026
The association between a pro-inflammatory diet and brain age in middle-aged and older adults.
Article in European journal of epidemiology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- Metabolic syndrome is associated with accelerated brain aging.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026Article
- Review
- Comprehensive analysis of the relationship between ultra-processed food consumption and food addiction at one-year follow-up in older adults with metabolic syndrome.Journal of behavioral addictions · 2026Article
- Diet, Inflammation, and Metabolic Complications.Nutrients · 2026Article
- From nutrient-based to food-based assessment: the evolution of inflammatory indices and their significance for metabolic syndrome and type 3 diabetes mellitus.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Review
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
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Abstract
Pro-inflammatory diets are associated with cognitive decline and dementia, but their impact on brain aging is unclear. We investigated the association between a pro-inflammatory diet and brain age, taking into account age, genetic risk for dementia, and systemic inflammation. UK Biobank participants (N = 21,473) aged 40-70 years and free of neurological disorders were included. The Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) was calculated from participants' average intake of 31 nutrients, assessed up to five times via 24-h recalls. Participants were categorized into four DII groups (group 1, anti-inflammatory, DII < -2; group 2, DII -2 to < 0; group 3, DII 0 to < 2; group 4, DII ≥ 2), with group 4 reflecting the most pro-inflammatory diet. Brain age was estimated using a machine learning model based on 1079 structural and functional MRI measures, obtained approximately 9 years after baseline. We calculated brain age gap (BAG; brain age minus chronological age), where BAG > 0 reflects a biologically older brain than chronological age. An Alzheimer's disease polygenic risk score (PRS
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