What this means
As populations age and food-system pressures intensify, dietary patterns should ideally support both cognitive health and environmental sustainability. However, whether established dietary patterns are associated with both lower dementia burden and smaller environmental footprints remains unclear.
A plain-English summary is on its way. Until then, this is the start of the authors' own summary.
- Who it was tested in
- Not stated
- Kind of research
- A study
The science
- Original title
- Associations of Dietary Patterns with Dementia Burden and Environmental Footprints among Older Adults: A Country-Level Longitudinal Ecological Analysis of 185 Countries and Territories, 1990-2018.
- Authors
- Sheng Y, Di K, Chi H et al.
- Journal
- The American journal of clinical nutrition
- Published
- Oct 16, 2026
- Study type
- Study
- PMID
- 42887694 ↗
Abstract
Background
As populations age and food-system pressures intensify, dietary patterns should ideally support both cognitive health and environmental sustainability. However, whether established dietary patterns are associated with both lower dementia burden and smaller environmental footprints remains unclear. We examined associations of four dietary patterns with dementia burden and diet-related environmental footprints among older adults worldwide.
What they did
We conducted a longitudinal ecological analysis of 185 countries and territories at seven time points, 1990-2018. Global Dietary Database data were linked to Global Burden of Disease dementia estimates and life-cycle assessment-derived environmental footprints. Two-way fixed-effects models evaluated 10-year-lagged dementia burden and concurrent environmental footprints. Benjamini-Hochberg correction controlled the false discovery rate.
What they found
A 10-point higher modified Planetary Health Diet Index (mPHDI) was associated with a 1.32% lower dementia disability-adjusted life-year (DALY) rate 10 years later (95% CI: -2.27, -0.37; q = 0.029), but not dementia prevalence. Mediterranean diet (MED) and Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) were not associated with dementia burden, and the Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI) was not significant after correction (-1.14%; q = 0.086). Higher mPHDI, DASH, and AHEI were associated with lower land use (-11.39%, -8.51%, and -9.57%, respectively), and mPHDI with lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (-8.16%). All patterns were associated with greater water scarcity (mPHDI, +3.59%; DASH, +5.57%; AHEI, +7.14%; MED, +2.25%), but none with eutrophication (all q ≥ 0.225). Exploratory analyses found lower dementia prevalence with higher AHEI in South Asia (-2.7%) and greater water scarcity with higher MED in Sub-Saharan Africa (+2.6%) and DASH in high-income countries (+7.0%). In this country-level ecological analysis, mPHDI showed the clearest health and environmental alignment, being associated with a lower dementia DALY rate, GHG emissions and land use, but greater water scarcity. These findings may inform context-specific policies considering healthy aging and environmental sustainability.
The authors' abstract, grouped under plain headings from its own section labels.
Sheng Y, Di K, Chi H et al. Associations of Dietary Patterns with Dementia Burden and Environmental Footprints among Older Adults: A Country-Level Longitudinal Ecological Analysis of 185 Countries and Territories, 1990-2018. The American journal of clinical nutrition. 2026. doi:10.1016/j.ajcnut.2026.101589. PMID: 42887694. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42887694/