Adherence to the Eatwell Guide and cardiometabolic, cognitive and neuroimaging parameters: An analysis from the PREVENT Dementia study

Healthy diet behaviours are important in a globally ageing population, particularly in relation to cardiometabolic and brain health. The Eatwell guide (EWG) reflects the UK government’s recommendations for a healthy and balanced diet. Data from the PREVENT dementia cohort study baseline visit was used in this analysis. Binary and graded EWG scores (BEWG, GEWG) were created from a self-reported Food Frequency Questionnaire. The CAIDE score was included as the primary outcome measure to represent risk for future AD. Secondary outcome measures included cardiometabolic health measures, and brain health measures. Generalised additive models were run in R. A total of 517 participants were included in the analysis, with a mean BEWG score of 4.39 (±1.66) (out of a possible 12 points) and GEWG score of 39.88 (±6.19) (out of a possible 60 points). There was no significant association between either EWG score and the CAIDE (BEWG β: 0.07; p: 0.32; GEWG β: 0.02, p: 0.36) or any measures of brain health. There was a significant association between higher GEWG score and lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure and body mass index (BMI) (systolic β: -0.24, p: 0.03; diastolic β: -0.16, p: 0.01; BMI β: -0.09, p: 0.02). Although not directly associated with the CAIDE score, the EWG dietary pattern may be beneficial for dementia prevention efforts through modification of hypertension and obesity, which are both known risk factors for dementia. Future work could replicate these findings in other UK-based cohorts as well as further development of EWG scoring methodologies.