(P26-53-26) MIND Diet Adherence Is Associated With Biomarkers of Systemic Stress, Neurotrophic and Mitochondrial Function but Not With Neurodegeneration Biomarkers in U.S. Older Adults

Objectives: Although adherence to the MIND diet is linked to better cognition, the mechanisms remain unclear. We tested the associations between MIND diet adherence and biomarkers of cognitive aging in U.S. older adults.

Methods: We analyzed data from 1,378 participants (mean age = 69) in the Health and Retirement Study. MIND adherence was derived from a 2013 food frequency questionnaire. Blood-based biomarkers measured in 2016 were grouped a priori into domains: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathology/neurodegeneration (Aβ42/40, pTau181, NfL, GFAP), systemic inflammatory/cardiometabolic stress (GDF15, IL-6, sTNFR1, uPAR, homocysteine, cystatin C), trophic capacity (IGF-1, BDNF), mitochondrial functioning (leukocyte mtDNA copy number), and immune aging indices obtained from flow cytometry. We used weighted linear regression models adjusted for sociodemographic, lifestyle, clinical factors, APOE status, and energy intake; false discovery rate (FDR) correction was applied within domains.

Results: Greater adherence to the MIND diet was associate with lower biomarker levels of systemic inflammatory and cardiometabolic stress, including GDF15 (β=−0.047, q < 0.001), IL-6 (β=−0.046, q=0.007), sTNFR1 (β=−0.031, q=0.007), uPAR (β=−0.038, q=0.018), higher trophic capacity indicated by IGF‑1 (β=0.060, q=0.002), and greater mtDNA copy number (β=0.037, q=0.048). Higher adherence was also associated with reduced immune senescence (β=−0.028, p=0.031) and increased naïve cell reserve (β=0.028, p=0.040), although these results were not significant after FDR correction (q≈0.06). No significant associations were observed for Aβ42/40, pTau181, NfL, or GFAP. For MIND components, we observed inverse associations of intakes of berries and nuts with IL-6; leafy greens and olive oil with GDF-15 and uPAR; and whole grains with reduced immune senescence. Conversely, berries, nuts, and olive oil were positively associated with mtDNA copy number, while fish, poultry, leafy greens, nuts, and whole grains were positively associated with IGF-1.

Conclusions: Healthy diets may contribute to lower systemic stress and improved trophic and mitochondrial functions, but do not appear to influence AD/neurodegeneration markers.

Funding Sources: US Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service (58-8050-3-003)