Mediterranean Dietary Pattern at Middle Age and Risk of Parkinson's Disease: A Swedish Cohort Study

BACKGROUND: The Mediterranean diet has been proposed to protect against neurodegeneration. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to assess the association of adherence to Mediterranean dietary pattern (MDP) at middle age with risk for Parkinson's disease (PD) later in life. METHOD: In a population‐based cohort of >47,000 Swedish women, information on diet was collected through a food frequency questionnaire during 1991–1992, from which adherence to MDP was calculated. We also collected detailed information on potential confounders. Clinical diagnosis of PD was ascertained from the Swedish National Patient Register through 2012. RESULTS: We observed an inverse association between adherence to MDP and PD, multivariable hazard ratio of 0.54 (95% confidence interval: 0.30–0.98), comparing high with low adherence. The association was noted primarily from age 65 years onward. One unit increase in the adherence score was associated with a 29% lower risk for PD at age ≥ 65 years (95% confidence interval: 0.57–0.89). CONCLUSION: Higher adherence to a Mediterranean diet at middle age was associated with lower risk for PD. © 2020 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society