(P14-028-23) Empirically Derived Dietary Patterns Are Associated With Brain Volume in the Boston Puerto Rican Health Study

Objectives: The objective of the current study was to quantify the associations of empirically derived dietary patterns with brain volume among Hispanic/Latino adults.

Methods: We used data from the longitudinal Boston Puerto Rican Health Study. Approximately 12.7 y from the baseline visit (n=1500), a subsample of 240 participants were invited to have an MRI brain scan. For this analysis, diet, assessed with a validated FFQ, was averaged across available visits (baseline, wave 2 (~2.2 y) and wave 3 (~6.2 y). Foods were collapsed into 36 categories and standardized for energy (g/1000 kcal/d). Principal components analysis was used to derive dietary patterns. Outcomes were hippocampal, amygdalar, total grey, and total white matter volumes. These measures were adjusted for intracranial volume with the residual method and z score transformed. Multiple linear regression models included age, sex, physical activity, education, smoking status, total energy, and time between the baseline and MRI visits.

Results: After losses due to missing data, 226 participants were retained for analysis (mean age 55 y; 79% female). Dietary patterns were characterized by factors 1) higher intakes of milk, yogurt, whole grain breads, dark leafy & orange vegetables, and hot and cold cereals; 2) traditional starchy vegetables (e.g., plantains, cassava), dark leafy & orange vegetables, and other vegetables, poultry, seafood, and oils/salad dressings; 3) rice & rice dishes and beans; and 4) other vegetables, nuts/seeds/soy products, and vitamin/mineral supplements. After adjustment for confounders, factor 2 was positively associated with amygdalar brain volume [β (95% CI); 0.13 (0.009, 0.26), P=0.03]; and Factor 4 was related to greater hippocampal brain volume [0.14 (0.02, 0.25), P=0.02]. Null associations were seen with factors 1 and 3.

Conclusions: Our findings suggest that varied dietary patterns are evident among Puerto Rican adults in Massachusetts. Patterns enriched with plant foods, including traditional starchy and dark leafy & orange vegetables as well as nuts, seeds, and soy products were associated with greater brain volume. More studies, with larger sample size, are needed, but these results suggest that the benefits of plant-based diets on cognitive function may, in part, be through protection of brain volume.

Funding Sources: NIH grants R01AG055948, P50 HL105185, and P01 AG023394.