Introduction: Evidence is limited on the role of mid-life Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet in late-life subjective cognitive complaints (SCCs).
Methods: We included 5116 women (mean age in 1985-1991: 46 years) from the New York University Women's Health Study. SCCs were assessed from 2018 to 2020 (mean age: 79 years) by a 6-item questionnaire.
Results: Compared to women in the bottom quartile of the DASH scores, the odds ratio (OR) for having two or more SCCs was 0.83 (95% confidence interval: 0.70-0.99) for women in the top quartile of DASH scores at baseline (P for trend = 0.019). The association was similar with multiple imputation and inverse probability weighting to account for potential selection bias. The inverse association was stronger in women without a history of cancer (P for interaction = 0.003).
Discussion: Greater adherence to the DASH diet in mid-life was associated with lower prevalence of late-life SCCs in women.
Keywords: Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension; New York University Women's Health Study; dietary components; later life; mid-life; subjective cognitive complaints.
© 2023 The Authors. Alzheimer's & Dementia published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Alzheimer's Association.