(P14-033-23) Dietary Patterns and Carotenoid Intake: Comparisons of MIND, Mediterranean, DASH, and Healthy Eating Index

Objectives: Carotenoids have been linked to numerous health benefits including greater cognitive function. Likewise, adherence to the Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet is suggested to reduce cognitive decline. The degree to which the MIND diet index emphasizes carotenoids relative to other healthful dietary indices is not well defined. Thus, we investigated the relationship between degree of adherence to the MIND diet index and carotenoid intake relative to the Mediterranean, Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH), and Healthy Eating Index (HEI-2015).

Methods: Adults aged 19-82 years (N = 392) completed the Dietary History Questionnaire (DHQ) food frequency questionnaire to assess carotenoid intake and adherence to each diet index. Linear regressions were used to assess the variance in carotenoid intake explained by each diet index following adjustment for energy, age, sex, income, and ethnicity. The predictive ability of each diet index for carotenoids was then compared using Meng’s z-test.

Results: Following adjustment, all diet indices were positively associated with dietary lutein + zeaxanthin, β-carotene, α-carotene, and β-cryptoxanthin (all β’s ≥0.36, P’s < 0.01). Dietary lycopene was associated with MIND (β =0.16, P < 0.01) and Mediterranean (β =0.18, P < 0.01). Effect size comparisons revealed that MIND diet adherence predicted greater variance in dietary lutein + zeaxanthin (β =0.64, P < 0.01) and β-carotene (β =0.63, P < 0.01) relative to the Mediterranean, DASH, and HEI-2015 (all Z’s ≥2.6, P’s < 0.01). The MIND index explained greater variance in α-carotene (β=0.48, P < 0.01) and β-cryptoxanthin (β =0.38, P < 0.01) relative to the HEI-2015 (all Z’s ≥3.6, P’s < 0.01).

Conclusions: MIND diet adherence was disproportionately related to carotenoid intake, indicating the MIND index places greater emphasis on carotenoids relative to other diet indices. This was more evident in comparisons between the MIND and HEI-2015 indices. Future work is needed to test the role of dietary carotenoids in explaining the neurocognitive health effects of the MIND diet.

Funding Sources: This work was funded by the Hass Avocado Board (Institutional Award Number 079273), and the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Hatch Project 1009249.