Brief Report

The association between Mediterranean diet adherence and Parkinson's disease†‡§

  1. Roy N. Alcalay MD, MSc1,2,*,
  2. Yian Gu PhD2,
  3. Helen Mejia-Santana MSc1,
  4. Lucien Cote MD1,3,
  5. Karen S. Marder MD, MPH1,2,3,4,
  6. Nikolaos Scarmeas MD, MS1,2,3

Article first published online: 7 FEB 2012

DOI: 10.1002/mds.24918

Issue

Movement Disorders

Movement Disorders

Volume 27, Issue 6, pages 771–774, May 2012

Additional Information

How to Cite

Alcalay, R. N., Gu, Y., Mejia-Santana, H., Cote, L., Marder, K. S. and Scarmeas, N. (2012), The association between Mediterranean diet adherence and Parkinson's disease. Mov. Disord., 27: 771–774. doi: 10.1002/mds.24918

Author Information

  1. 1

    Department of Neurology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA

  2. 2

    Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA

  3. 3

    Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA

  4. 4

    Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York, USA

*Columbia University. Neurology, 710 West 168th Street, 3rd floor, New York, NY 10032

  1. †

    Funding agencies: This study was funded by the NIH (RO1-NS32527, AGO7232, R01AG028506, P30 ES009089, 1UL1 RR024156-01) and the Parkinson's Disease Foundation.

  2. ‡

    Relevant conflicts of interest/financial disclosures: Roy N. Alcalay is supported by the Brookdale Foundation Leadership in Aging Fellowship and the NIH (KL2 RR024157).

  3. §

    Full financial disclosures and author roles may be found in the online version of this article.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 30 MAY 2012
  2. Article first published online: 7 FEB 2012
  3. Manuscript Accepted: 26 DEC 2011
  4. Manuscript Revised: 22 NOV 2011
  5. Manuscript Received: 15 JUL 2011

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Keywords:

  • nutrition;
  • Mediterranean diet;
  • Parkinson's disease;
  • dietary pattern

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. © 2012 Movement Disorder Society

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