title: Nutrition and Dementia: Evidence for Preventive Approaches?
abstract: In recent years, the possibility of favorably influencing the cognitive trajectory through promotion of lifestyle modifications has been increasingly investigated. In particular, the relationship between nutritional habits and cognitive health has attracted special attention. The present review is designed to retrieve and discuss recent evidence (published over the last 3 years) coming from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating the efficacy of nutritional interventions aimed at improving cognitive functioning and/or preventing cognitive decline in non-demented older individuals. A systematic review of literature was conducted, leading to the identification of 11 studies of interest. Overall, most of the nutritional interventions tested by the selected RCTs were found to produce statistically significant cognitive benefits (defined as improved neuropsychological test scores). Nevertheless, the clinical meaningfulness of such findings was not adequately discussed and appears controversial. In parallel, only 2 studies investigated between-group differences concerning incident dementia and mild cognitive impairment cases, reporting conflicting results. Results of the present review suggest that several dietary patterns and nutritional components may constitute promising strategies in postponing, slowing, and preventing cognitive decline. However, supporting evidence is overall weak and further studies are needed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, "Sapienza" University, Rome 00185, Italy. marco.canevelli@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Canevelli
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, "Sapienza" University, Rome 00185, Italy. flaminialucchini@hotmail.it.
authors.forename: Flaminia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lucchini
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, "Sapienza" University, Rome 00185, Italy. federica.quarata@libero.it.
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Quarata
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, "Sapienza" University, Rome 00185, Italy. giuseppe.bruno@uniroma1.it.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bruno
authors.affiliation: Gérontopôle, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse, Toulouse 31062, France. macesari@gmail.com.|Université de Toulouse III Paul Sabatier, Toulouse 31062, France. macesari@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cesari
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003071:Cognition; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D003704:Dementia / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D004032:Diet / Q000009:adverse effects; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009752:Nutritional Status; D065840:Protective Factors; D020127:Recovery of Function; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D040242:Risk Reduction Behavior; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: cognitive disorders; dementia; diet; nutrition; preventive strategies; randomized controlled trials