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. 2012 May;27(6):771-4.
doi: 10.1002/mds.24918. Epub 2012 Feb 7.

The association between Mediterranean diet adherence and Parkinson's disease

Roy N Alcalay  1 , Yian Gu, Helen Mejia-Santana, Lucien Cote, Karen S Marder, Nikolaos Scarmeas
Affiliations

The association between Mediterranean diet adherence and Parkinson's disease

Roy N Alcalay et al. Mov Disord. 2012 May.

Abstract

Background: Recent studies have demonstrated an association between a Mediterranean-type diet and Alzheimer's risk. We assessed the association between Mediterranean-type diet adherence and Parkinson's disease (PD) status.

Methods: Two hundred and fifty-seven PD participants and 198 controls completed the Willett semiquantitative questionnaire that quantifies diet during the past year. Scores were calculated using a 9-point scale; higher scores indicated greater adherence to the Mediterranean-type diet. Logistic regression models were used to assess the association between PD status and Mediterranean-type diet, adjusting for caloric intake, age, sex, education, and ethnicity. Adjusted linear regression models were used to examine the association between Mediterranean-type diet adherence and PD age at onset.

Results: Higher Mediterranean-type diet adherence was associated with reduced odds for PD after adjustment for all covariates (OR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.77-0.97; P = .010). Lower Mediterranean-type diet score was associated with earlier PD age at onset (β = 1.09; P = .006).

Conclusions: PD patients adhere less than controls to a Mediterranean-type diet. Dietary behavior may be associated with age at onset.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Drs. Scarmeas, Gu, and Cote and Mrs. Mejia-Santana have nothing to disclose.

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