Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39815306›Full record

SynthesisEuropean journal of medical research2025

Mediterranean diet and dementia: MRI marker evidence from meta-analysis.

Xiaojie Wang, Zhiyao Xin, Xiuwen Li, Keying Wu, Wanxin Wang, Lan Guo, Li Wang, Xin Mo, Xinjian Liu, Zhihui Guo and 2 more

Abstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in European journal of medical research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed, 1 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

9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. MIND diet-related plasma proteins are associated with Alzheimer's disease risk.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026
    Article
  3. Review
  4. Review
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  6. Review
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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

12 authors.

Xiaojie Wang *Department of Neurology, Shenzhen Qianhai Shekou Free Trade Zone Hospital, Shenzhen, 518067, Guangdong, China.
Zhiyao Xin *Department of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University, 74 Zhongshan Road 2, Guangzhou, 510080, Guangdong, China.
Xiuwen LiDepartment of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University, 74 Zhongshan Road 2, Guangzhou, 510080, Guangdong, China.
Keying WuDepartment of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University, 74 Zhongshan Road 2, Guangzhou, 510080, Guangdong, China.
Wanxin WangDepartment of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University, 74 Zhongshan Road 2, Guangzhou, 510080, Guangdong, China.
Lan GuoDepartment of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University, 74 Zhongshan Road 2, Guangzhou, 510080, Guangdong, China.
Li WangDepartment of Neurology, Shenzhen Qianhai Shekou Free Trade Zone Hospital, Shenzhen, 518067, Guangdong, China.
Xin MoDepartment of Radiology, Shenzhen Qianhai Shekou Free Trade Zone Hospital, 36 Industrial Road 7, Shenzhen, 518067, Guangdong, China.
Xinjian LiuDepartment of Neurology, Shenzhen Qianhai Shekou Free Trade Zone Hospital, Shenzhen, 518067, Guangdong, China.
Zhihui GuoDepartment of Neurology, Shenzhen Qianhai Shekou Free Trade Zone Hospital, Shenzhen, 518067, Guangdong, China.
Jing WangDepartment of Radiology, Shenzhen Qianhai Shekou Free Trade Zone Hospital, 36 Industrial Road 7, Shenzhen, 518067, Guangdong, China. wjing7997@163.com.
Ciyong LuDepartment of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University, 74 Zhongshan Road 2, Guangzhou, 510080, Guangdong, China. luciyong@mail.sysu.edu.cn.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDementia is a growing public health concern with limited effective treatments. Diet may be a modifiable factor that significantly impacts brain health. Mediterranean diet (MeDi) has been suggested to be associated with brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) markers related to dementia, but the existing evidence is inconsistent.

objectivesThis systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to quantify the association between MeDi and dementia-related MRI markers.

methodsA systematic search was conducted on PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science up to September 2024. Two reviewers worked in parallel to select studies and extract data. We considered epidemiologic studies that reported beta coefficients (β) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for MRI markers related to MeDi. Separate meta-analyses were performed for cross-sectional and longitudinal studies.

resultsA total of 20 relevant studies involving 44,893 individuals were included in the analysis. Thirteen cross-sectional studies included a total of 42,955 participants. A meta-analysis of cross-sectional studies revealed significant associations between MeDi and white matter hyperintensity (WMH) (β = - 0.03, 95% CI = - 0.05- - 0.01, P = 0.02). However, there were no significant associations found between MeDi and total brain volume (TBV) (β = - 0.03, 95% CI = - 0.20-0.13, P = 0.71), gray matter volume (GMV) (β = 0.26, 95% CI = - 0.19-0.71, P = 0.26), white matter volume (WMV) (β = - 0.09, 95% CI = - 0.40-0.22, P = 0.58), or hippocampal volume (HCV) (β = - 1.02, 95% CI = - 7.74-9.79, P = 0.82). In the longitudinal analysis, seven prospective studies with an average follow-up period ranging from 1.5 to 9 years and involving 1,938 participants. The combined effect size of MeDi showed no significant association with TBV or GMV.

conclusionAdherence to MeDi may be associated with reduced WMH in older adults. This suggests that MeDi may affect brain health and highlights the need for further research into its role as a modifiable lifestyle factor that might potentially modify the risk of dementia.

Indexed as

BrainDementiaDiet, MediterraneanMagnetic Resonance ImagingBiomarkersCross-Sectional StudiesHumansWhite MatterBiomarkersDementiaMagnetic resonance imaging markersMediterranean dietMeta-analysis

Identifiers

PMID39815306
PMCPMC11737277

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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.