Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29147948›Full record

Observational studyEuropean journal of epidemiology2018

Adherence to Mediterranean diet and subjective cognitive function in men.

Ambika Bhushan, Elinor Fondell, Alberto Ascherio, Changzheng Yuan, Francine Grodstein, Walter Willett

Abstract readObservational Study
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Observational study in European journal of epidemiology, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 53 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
53citing papers in PubMed, 6 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

53 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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  7. Article
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  17. Increases in adherence to a simplified Mediterranean diet predicts improved next day cognitive functioning.Annals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine · 2025
    Article
  18. Article
  19. Human gut microbiome, diet, and mental disorders.International microbiology : the official journal of the Spanish Society for Microbiology · 2025
    Review
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Ambika BhushanHarvard Medical School, 25 Shattuck Street, Boston, MA, 02115, USA. ambika.bhushan@gmail.com.ORCID 0000-0003-4888-8363
Elinor FondellDepartment of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
Alberto AscherioDepartment of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
Changzheng YuanDepartment of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
Francine GrodsteinChanning Division of Network Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 181 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
Walter WillettDepartment of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.

Funding

Validity of Diet and Activity Measures in WomenP01CA055075 · NCI · HARVARD UNIVERSITY (SCH OF PUBLIC HLTH) · PI FUCHS, CHARLES S · 1991 to 2009
$41.8M
Cancer Epidemiology Cohort in Male Health ProfessionalsUM1CA167552 · NCI · HARVARD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH · PI WILLETT, WALTER C. · 2012 to 2016
$11.5M
NCI NIH HHS P01 CA055075NIH HHS UM1 CA167552
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Benefits of a Mediterranean diet for cognition have been suggested, but epidemiologic studies have been relatively small and of limited duration. To prospectively assess the association between long-term adherence to a Mediterranean dietary pattern and self-reported subjective cognitive function (SCF). Prospective observational study. The Health Professionals' Follow-up Study, a prospective cohort of 51,529 men, 40-75 years of age when enrolled in 1986, of whom 27,842 were included in the primary analysis. Mediterranean diet (MD) score, computed from the mean of five food frequency questionnaires, assessed every 4 years from 1986 to 2002. Self-reported SCF assessed by a 6-item questionnaire in 2008 and 2012, and validated by association with genetic variants in apolipoprotein-4. Using the average of 2008 and 2012 SCF scores, 38.0% of men were considered to have moderate memory scores and 7.3% were considered to have poor scores. In a multivariate model, compared with men having a MD score in the lowest quintile, those in the highest quintile had a 36% lower odds of a poor SCF score (odds ratio 0.64, 95% CI 0.55-0.75; P, trend < 0.001) and a 24% lower odds of a moderate SCF score (OR 0.76, 95% CI 0.70-0.83; P, trend < 0.001). Both remote and more recent diet contributed to this relation. Associations were only slightly weaker using baseline dietary data and a lag of 22 years. Long-term adherence to the Mediterranean diet pattern was strongly related to lower subjective cognitive function. These findings provide further evidence that a healthy dietary pattern may prevent or delay cognitive decline.

Indexed as

CognitionDiet, MediterraneanPatient ComplianceAdultAgedAlzheimer DiseaseCognition DisordersDementiaFollow-Up StudiesHumansLife StyleMaleMiddle AgedNeuropsychological TestsProspective StudiesSurveys and QuestionnairesAlzheimer’s diseaseMediterranean dietMild cognitive impairmentSubjective cognitive declineSubjective cognitive function

Identifiers

PMID29147948

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.