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Topical Area: Dietary Patterns

Dietary Patterns (Poster Session)

(P14-042-23) MIND Diet Pattern Is Selectively Associated With Attentional Control in Preadolescent Children

Sunday, July 23, 2023
11:45 AM – 12:45 PM ET
Location: Poster Board 42
ELPC
Disclosure(s):
Shelby A. Keye, PhD: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.
Tori A. Holthaus, B.S., R.D.: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.


Objectives: Previous work has shown that specific dietary patterns contribute to cognitive function across the lifespan. The Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) – a dietary pattern that emphasizes specific foods associated with neuroprotective benefits – is related to reduced risk for cognitive decline in older adults. However, no previous study has examined the relationship between MIND diet pattern adherence and cognitive function in childhood. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the adherence of different dietary indices [i.e., Health Eating Index-2015 (HEI-2015) vs. MIND] and attentional inhibition in school-aged children.

Methods: Children (n=85, 44 female) aged 9.6 ± 1.9 years participated in a cross-sectional study. HEI-2015 and MIND diet scores were derived from 7-day diet records. Participants completed a modified Eriksen flanker task to assess attentional inhibition. Step wise regressions were conducted to assess the variance in attentional inhibition explained by each diet pattern index (i.e., MIND vs. HEI-2015) following adjustment for age, sex, total caloric intake, and household income.

Results: Average HEI-2015 score was 46.4 ± 10.1 out of 100 and average MIND diet score was 4.48 ± 1.77 out of a 14. MIND score was positively related to congruent accuracy (ΔR2= 0.06, β=0.25, P= 0.02) and incongruent accuracy (ΔR2= 0.06, β=0.24, P= 0.02) on the flanker task. However, there was no relationship between HEI-2015 and congruent accuracy (ΔR2=0.00, β=0.05, P=0.66) or incongruent accuracy (ΔR2=0.00, β=0.01, P=0.89).

Conclusions: In preadolescent children, participants with higher adherence to the MIND diet exhibited greater accuracy on a task assessing attentional inhibition. These results indicate that the potential beneficial influence of the MIND diet pattern is evident in childhood. Future MIND diet interventions are needed to inform dietary recommendations for cognitive function and brain health in children.

Funding Sources: This study was funded by the Egg Nutrition Center.