Mediterranean Diet Good for Cardiovascular Diseases, Helps Genetic Alzheimer's High-Risk Groups

Aug 26, 2025

Mediterranean Diet Good for Cardiovascular Diseases, Helps Genetic Alzheimer's High-Risk Groups
Image=Pixabay



The Mediterranean diet, which is considered the world's healthiest diet every year, is traditionally consumed by people living in Greece, southern Italy, and Spain on the Mediterranean coast.

Focusing on whole grains such as beans, vegetables, and fruits, olive oil is used as a major source of fat, and it is characterized by eating only a small amount of fish, dairy products (cheese and yogurt), and red meat. It is known to be effective in controlling blood sugar and blood pressure, reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, and help control inflammatory responses, prevent adult diseases, and control weight with antioxidant power.

Studies have shown that such a Mediterranean diet can help people at genetically high risk of dementia.




This is the result of a recent study by Dr. Liu's team at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the MIT and Harvard University Broad Institute published in the medical journal Nature Medicine.

Alzheimer's disease and related dementia, which are considered the most common causes of cognitive decline in the elderly, have strong genetic factors, with an estimated inheritance of up to 80%. The strongest genetic risk factor for sporadic Alzheimer's disease is the APOE4 mutant gene, which has a significant impact on senescent development. People with one APOE4 mutant gene are known to have three to four times higher risk of Alzheimer's disease than those without one APOE4 mutant gene, and people with two mutant genes (APOE4 homozygous) are known to have 12 times higher risk.

The research team analyzed data from 4,215 women (1989-2023) who participated in the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) and data from 1,490 men who participated in the Health Expert Tracking Study (HPFUS) conducted between 1993 and 2023 to find out how the Mediterranean diet reduces dementia risk and affects blood metabolites related to cognitive health.




Through a food intake frequency survey, participants were divided into three groups according to Mediterranean diet practice scores and blood was collected to investigate metabolites. In addition, genetic data were used to evaluate the genetic risk of Alzheimer's disease in each participant. As a result, among those with two APOE4 mutant genes, the group with the top third of Mediterranean diet implementation scores reduced the risk of Alzheimer's disease by 23%. The risk was reduced by about 10% in the group with one gene, and there was no significant change in the group without the APOE4 mutant gene.

The research team said the findings suggest that a Mediterranean diet can help offset the genetic risk of Alzheimer's disease.






This article was translated by Naver AI translator.