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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Boston, Massachusetts » Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #386632
Research Project: Longitudinal Analysis of Diet Quality, Health Outcomes and Mortality and Predictors of Living to Become a Centenarian

Location: Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging

Title: Diet quality and risk of Parkinson’s Disease: A prospective study and meta-analysis

Author
item LIU, YI-HSUAN - Pennsylvania State University
item JENSEN, GORDON - University Of Vermont College Of Medicine
item MUZI, NA - Pennsylvania State University
item MITCHELL, DIANE - Pennsylvania State University
item WOOD, CRAIG - Geisinger Medical Center
item STILL, CHRISTOPHER - Geisinger Medical Center
item GAO, XIANG - Pennsylvania State University

Submitted to: Journal of Parkinson's Disease
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/21/2020
Publication Date: 2/21/2021
Citation: Liu, Y., Jensen, G., Muzi, N., Mitchell, D., Wood, C., Still, C., Gao, X. 2021. Diet quality and risk of Parkinson’s Disease: A prospective study and meta-analysis. Journal of Parkison's Disease. 11:337-347. https://doi.org/10.3233/JPD-202290.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3233/JPD-202290

Interpretive Summary: A number of observational studies have examined the association between individual dietary components and risk of Parkinson’s disease; however, observational studies investigating the role of overall diet quality and/or dietary pattern on the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease are limited. In a prospective study conducted in over 3600 Geisinger Rural Aging Study participants we observed that having high diet quality, as assessed by a validated diet quality screening tool, was associated with lower future risk of Parkinson’s disease. In addition, a meta-analysis of other studies was conducted also suggesting that having high diet quality or adherence to a healthy dietary pattern is associated with lower risk of Parkinson’s disease. These data suggest that a healthy diet may be a potential modifiable lifestyle factor that may delay or prevent the onset of Parkinson’s disease.

Technical Abstract: Several dietary components have been shown to be neuroprotective against risk of neurodegeneration. However, limited observational studies have examined the role of overall diet quality on risk of Parkinson’s disease. We examined the associations between diet quality and risk of Parkinson’s disease in a prospective cohort study and meta-analysis. Included in the cohort study were 3,653 participants (1,519 men and 2,134 women; mean age: 81.5 years) in the Geisinger Rural Aging Study longitudinal cohort in Pennsylvania. Diet quality was assessed using a validated dietary screening tool containing 25 food- and behavior-specific questions in 2009. Potential Parkinson’s cases were identified using electronic health records based on ICD9 (332.*), ICD10 (G20), and Parkinson-related treatments. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) across diet quality tertiles were calculated using Cox proportional hazards models after adjusting for potential confounders. We further performed a meta-analysis by pooling our study with four published papers on this topic. Random-effects model was utilized to calculate the pooled risk ratios and 95% CIs. During a mean of 6.94 years of follow-up, 47 incident Parkinson’s cases were documented. Having high diet quality at baseline was associated with lower Parkinson’s disease risk (adjusted HR for the highest vs the lowest diet quality tertile = 0.39; 95% CI: 0.17, 0.89; p-trend = 0.02). The meta-analysis including 140,617 individuals also showed that adherence to high diet quality or a healthy dietary pattern was associated with lower risk of Parkinson’s disease (pooled risk ratio = 0.64; 95% CI: 0.49, 0.83). Conclusion: Having high diet quality or a healthy dietary pattern was associated with lower future risk of Parkinson’s disease.