The association between dietary patterns, plasma lipid profiles, and inflammatory potential in a vascular dementia cohort

BACKGROUND: Inflammation and altered lipid dyshomeostasis have been implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia. OBJECTIVE: To determine if there are any associations between dietary patterns, plasma lipid profiles, and inflammatory potential in a vascular dementia cohort. METHODS: One hundred fifty participants (36 subjects with Vascular Dementia and 114 healthy controls) from two Australian teaching hospitals completed a cross‐sectional survey examining their dietary and lifestyle patterns. Each participant's diet was further evaluated using the Empirical Dietary Inflammatory Index. Some participants also donated blood samples for lipidomic analysis. RESULTS: After adjusting for age, education, and socioeconomic status, participants with vascular dementia tend to have higher lipid profiles, do less exercise, and engage less frequently in social interaction, educational, or reading activities. They also tend to consume more deep‐fried food and full‐fat dairy compared to control subjects. However, there was no difference in Empirical Dietary Inflammatory Index between the two groups after adjusting for age, education, and socioeconomic status. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest a graded inverse association between healthy lifestyle factors and vascular dementia.