O papel dos padrões alimentares na prevenção de demência: revisão da literatura

Resumo (EN)

As the population ages, dementia has become a major public health problem, with Alzheimer's disease (AD) being the most common. It is known that old age and genetics are non-modifiable risk factors, but studies show that the development of AD has a strong relationship with modifiable risk factors, among them nutrition, which has drawn a lot of attention with the large amount of evidence, showing a strong relationship between the diet of individuals and neurodegeneration. It is extremely necessary to investigate nutritional strategies so that dementia can be postponed or even prevented, given the scarcity of effective pharmacological treatments to prevent cognitive decline. The purpose of the review was to analyze the influence of dietary patterns on the prevention of cognitive decline and AD. As a methodology, observational-type studies and controlled clinical trials carried out on humans, adults and the elderly, published in the last 5 years and that analyzed the food component, were included. Of the 118 articles found, only 8 met the criteria and it was included that among these, only 2 did not show a positive association between diet and prevention of cognitive decline. The other studies have somehow shown that diet, among other covariates, have a considerably positive impact on brain aging during middle age. It was concluded that there is not only a dietary pattern capable of delaying the emergence of neurodegenerative diseases, but that different dietary patterns with common characteristics, have neuroprotective capacity.