Diet and Brain Health in Mexican Adults

The aim of the study is to explore the association of the diet and brain health as well as the understanding of the role of diet and other modifiable risk factors for brain health in Mexican adults. 

For the first component of the study, data of older adults participants of the 2012-ENSANUT with diet, DS and CF information will be analyzed. Dietary patterns will be generated through principal component analysis and by the adherence to specific dietary guidelines. Brain health in this study refers to CF and DS. CF was measured using MiniCog and verbal fluency. DS were gathered using the brief version of the CESD-20. A logistic regression model will be used to analyze the association of diet and brain health adjusting for confounders. 

For the second component of the study, middle-age and older adults from Tepoztlán, Mexico will be invited to participate in focus groups to explore the understanding of the diet and other modifiable risk factors for brain health. Qualitative analysis of identified themes will be used. I expect to find an association between a healthy diet pattern with a higher score in CF and lower DS. Also, I hypothesize that the participants in the focus groups will have limited knowledge about brain health and the risk factors for dementia. The results will help to inform if adherence to a Mexican traditional diet is associated with brain health in older adults. It will inform the current literature of the role of diet and other modifiable risk factors for brain health and dementia. Generating awareness of the foods and/or dietary practices that may be protective for brain health in Mexico could be a powerful first step to conduct rigorous research. It will also ultimately support implementing evidence-based public health interventions that might delay the onset of cognitive problems in the wider Mexican population.