O050 - HIGHER DIETARY ANTHOCYANIN INTAKE IS ASSOCIATED WITH LOWER DEMENTIA RISK: FINDINGS FROM THE EPIC-SPAIN COHORT

O050

HIGHER DIETARY ANTHOCYANIN INTAKE IS ASSOCIATED WITH LOWER DEMENTIA RISK: FINDINGS FROM THE EPIC-SPAIN COHORT

D. Sagués Farreras^1,2,*, M. Gholamalizadeh^1,3, S. Doaei^1,4, D. Petrova^5,6,7,8, J. Delfrade^7,9,10, A. Dorronsoro^11,12, A. M. Corbalán¹³, J. M. Huerta^7,13, R. Zamora Ros¹

¹Unit of Nutrition and Cancer, Cancer Epidemiology Research Programme, Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO), Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), ²Department of Nutrition, Food Sciences, and Gastronomy, Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences, University of Barcelona (UB), Barcelona, Spain, ³Cancer Research Center Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, ⁴Departments of Community Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Nutrition and Food Technology National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, Islamic Republic Of, ⁵Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs.GRANADA, ⁶Escuela Andaluza de Salud Pública, Granada, ⁷CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, ⁸Medical Oncology, Hospital Universitario Virgen de las Nieves, Granada, ⁹Instituto de Salud Pública y Laboral de Navarra, ¹⁰Navarra Institute for Health Research (IdiSNA) , Pamplona, ¹¹Ministry of Health of the Basque Government, Sub Directorate for Public Health and Addictions of Gipuzkoa, ¹²Epidemiology of Chronic and Communicable Diseases Group, Biodonostia Health Research Institute, San Sebastián, ¹³Department of Epidemiology, Murcia Regional Health Council, IMIB-Arrixaca, Murcia, Spain

Rationale: Dietary (poly)phenols may influence neurodegeneration through antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and vascular mechanisms. However, prospective evidence on their association with dementia risk, particularly across different subtypes, remains limited and inconsistent.  

Methods: We examined the association between total, classes and subclasses of dietary (poly)phenols and incident dementia (overall, Alzheimer’s and non-Alzheimer’s) in 31,915 participants from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-Spain Dementia Cohort (recruitment between 1992–1996; mean follow-up: 21.5 years). Baseline dietary (poly)phenol intake was assessed using a validated dietary history questionnaire linked to the Phenol-Explorer data base. Incident dementia cases were identified through linkage with health databases and validated by neurologists. Multivariable-adjusted Fine-Gray models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) across quartiles of (poly)phenol intake.

Results: A total of 1,281 incident dementia cases were identified, including 887 (69.2%) Alzheimer’s disease and 394 (30.8%) non-Alzheimer’s dementia. Higher anthocyanin intake was associated with lower risk of overall dementia (HR_Q4vs.Q1 0.80; 95%CI 0.67-0.96; P-trend = 0.005) and non-Alzheimer’s dementia (HR_Q4vs.Q1 0.69; 95%CI 0.49-0.94; P-trend = 0.020). A weaker non-significant association was observed for Alzheimer’s disease (HR_Q4vs.Q1 0.87; 95%CI 0.69-1.08; P-trend = 0.092). Results remained consistent in sensitivity analyses.

Conclusion: In this large prospective Spanish cohort, higher anthocyanin intake was associated with reduced dementia risk, with modest effects on Alzheimer’s disease. These findings support a potential role of anthocyanin-rich diets in dementia prevention, although further studies incorporating biomarkers of intake are needed to confirm these associations and elucidate the underlying mechanisms.

Disclosure of Interest: None declared