Healthy dietary intake diminishes the effect of cerebral small vessel disease on cognitive performance in older adults

Authors

• Christopher E. Bauer, University of KentuckyFollow
• Valentinos Zachariou, University of KentuckyFollow
• Colleen A. Pappas, University of Kentucky
• Pauline Maillard, University of California, Davis
• Charles S. DeCarli, University of California, Davis
• Arvind Caprihan, The Mind Research Network
• Brian T. Gold, University of KentuckyFollow

Abstract

Introduction: We evaluated whether regular dietary intake of nutrients commonly found in fish, unsaturated oils, and nuts would moderate the associations between neuroimaging biomarkers of cerebral small vessel disease (cSVD) and cognitive function in older adults. Methods: Dietary information, Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scores, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans were collected from 71 older adults without dementia (60–86 years). MRI biomarkers of cSVD were calculated for each participant. Multivariate linear regression models were computed using dietary intake as the moderating variable. Covariates included age, sex, and estimated intracranial volume. Results: Dietary intake moderated the association between several cSVD biomarkers and MoCA scores such that the expected negative association between cSVD biomarkers and cognition was seen at low levels of healthy dietary intake, but not at medium or high levels. A dietary intake by age moderation was not observed. Discussion: Our findings indicate that healthy dietary intake may confer cognitive reserve against cSVD in older adults.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2025

Notes/Citation Information

© 2025 Bauer, Zachariou, Pappas, Maillard, DeCarli, Caprihan and Gold. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2025.1508148

Funding Information

The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. The present study was supported by the National Institutes of Health (grant nos. NIA P30 AG072946, NIA P30 AG028383 -15S1, NIA R01 AG055449, NIA R01 AG068055, NINDS RF1 NS122028, and NIGMS S10 OD023573). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of these granting agencies.

Repository Citation

Bauer, Christopher E.; Zachariou, Valentinos; Pappas, Colleen A.; Maillard, Pauline; DeCarli, Charles S.; Caprihan, Arvind; and Gold, Brian T., "Healthy dietary intake diminishes the effect of cerebral small vessel disease on cognitive performance in older adults" (2025). Behavioral Science Faculty Publications. 122.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/behavsci_facpub/122