The Mediterranean Diet is Associated with Higher Arterial Elasticity over Prefrontal Cortex in Older Adults

Abstract INTRODUCTION Healthful dietary patterns may attenuate dementia risk by preserving cerebrovascular health. Prior work has focused on systemic arterial stiffness, but cerebrovascular measures may be more sensitive to neuroprotective effects of diet. We examined associations between Mediterranean diet adherence, prefrontal cortex (PFC) arterial elasticity, and cognition in older adults. METHODS Participants were 198 older adults (58% female; mean age 65.6 years) from the Newcastle ACTIVate cohort. Mediterranean Diet (MedDiet) scores were derived from the Australian Eating Survey food frequency questionnaire. Pulse Relaxation Function (PReFx), an index of PFC arterial elasticity, was measured using pulse Diffuse Optical Tomography. Cognition was assessed with CANTAB and a cued task-switching paradigm. RESULTS Higher MedDiet was associated with higher PFC arterial elasticity. MedDiet was not associated with cognition, and PReFx did not mediate diet-cognition associations. DISCUSSION Greater Mediterranean diet alignment was cross-sectionally associated with PFC arterial elasticity, suggesting a pathway through which diet may influence brain health in ageing.