Overview

• Published in Nature Medicine, the analysis links Mediterranean-style eating to fewer dementia cases and slower cognitive decline in two long-running U.S. cohorts.
• People with two APOE4 copies saw about a 35% lower dementia risk with close adherence to the diet, and stronger adherence corresponded to further reductions.
• The team drew on food-frequency data, genetic profiles and plasma metabolomics from 4,215 women and 1,490 men followed roughly from 1989 to 2023, with cognitive testing in a subset.
• Distinct metabolite patterns in APOE4 carriers point to potential biological pathways through which diet may influence brain health, pending further validation.
• Authors caution that participants were largely well educated and of European ancestry and that genetics and metabolomics are not yet standard in clinical risk prediction.