Background: Recent meta-analyses confirm a relationship between diet quality and both depression and cognitive\nhealth in adults. While the biological pathways that underpin these relationships are likely multitudinous, extensive\nevidence from animal studies points to the involvement of the hippocampus. The aim of this study was to examine\nthe association between dietary patterns and hippocampal volume in humans, and to assess whether diet was\nassociated with differential rates of hippocampal atrophy over time.\nMethods: Data were drawn from the Personality and Total Health Through Life Study and focused on a subsample\nof the cohort (n = 255) who were aged 60ââ?¬â??64 years at baseline in 2001, completed a food frequency questionnaire,\nand underwent two magnetic resonance imaging scans approximately 4 years apart. Longitudinal generalized\nestimating equation linear regression models were used to assess the association between dietary factors and left\nand right hippocampal volumes over time.\nResults: Every one standard deviation increase in healthy ââ?¬Å?prudentââ?¬Â dietary pattern was associated with a 45.7 mm3\n(standard error 22.9 mm3) larger left hippocampal volume, while higher consumption of an unhealthy ââ?¬Å?Westernââ?¬Â\ndietary pattern was (independently) associated with a 52.6 mm3 (SE 26.6 mm3) smaller left hippocampal volume.\nThese relationships were independent of covariates including age, gender, education, labour-force status,\ndepressive symptoms and medication, physical activity, smoking, hypertension and diabetes. While hippocampal\nvolume declined over time, there was no evidence that dietary patterns influenced this decline. No relationships were\nobserved between dietary patterns and right hippocampal volume.\nConclusions: Lower intakes of nutrient-dense foods and higher intakes of unhealthy foods are each independently\nassociated with smaller left hippocampal volume. To our knowledge, this is the first human study to demonstrate\nassociations between diet and hippocampal volume concordant with data previously observed in animal models.
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