The Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet and the risk of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, all-cause, and cardiovascular diseases mortality: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies

Recent studies have focused on the relationship between the Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet and the risk of chronic diseases and mortality. The present systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to review and compile the available research and assess the possible relationship of the MIND diet score with cancer, cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), hypertension (HTN), and mortality risks. A comprehensive and systematic search was performed in online databases including PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science up to July 2025. Hazard ratios(HRs) or odds ratios(ORs) and their 95% confidence intervals(CIs) were extracted from the included studies, then to estimate the pooled results, the random-effects model with inverse variance weighting method was used. Twenty-three observational studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were included in the present meta-analysis. The findings found that higher adherence to the MIND diet was related to the decreased risk of cancers(RR:0.45, 95%CI:0.31–0.65; P < 0.001; I 2 = 43.9%,P-heterogeneity = 0.129), all-cause(RR:0.86, 95%CI:0.81–0.92; P < 0.001; I 2 = 74.0%,P-heterogeneity < 0.001) and CVDs mortality(RR:0.78, 95%CI:0.67–0.90; P = 0.001; I 2 = 71.4%,P-heterogeneity = 0.002); however, there is no significant relationship between MIND diet score and risk of HTN(RR:0.88, 95%CI:0.76–1.03; P = 0. 097; I 2 = 45.5%, P-heterogeneity = 0.088) and CVDs(RR:0.86, 95%CI:0.68–1.08; P = 0.200; I 2 = 82.4%, P-heterogeneity < 0.001). Our findings suggested that the greater adherence to the MIND diet may be associated with lower risk of cancer, all-cause mortality, and CVDs-mortality; however, no significant association was observed between the MIND diet and risk of HTN and CVDs. These findings should be interpreted cautiously due to substantial heterogeneity, potential publication bias, a moderate risk of bias, and the observational nature of the included studies. Further research is warranted to assess the long-term effects and potential relationship of the MIND diet with risk of these chronic outcomes. CRD420251014343