Introduction
A crucial lifestyle component that may stop or delay the beginning and progression of brain degeneration is diet. In the absence of effective treatment, dementia is becoming an increasing public concern (Takeuchi & Kawashima, 2021). Therefore, whether food and nutritional habits contribute to the deterioration of aging-related cognitive functions and the emergence of dementia is an important subject. According to some recent studies, maintaining a balanced diet may lower your risk of developing dementia (Takeuchi & Kawashima, 2021; Glans et al., 2022; Liu et al., 2020). This study aimed to determine a relationship between diet and the prevalence of dementia by using prior studies on dietary patterns and dementia risk factors.
Research Questions
Targeting modifiable risk factors for cognitive impairment and dementia could benefit this population significantly and reduce societal costs, given the lack of effective treatments for dementia. As a result, the study seeks to assess the following questions:
- Does adherence to a healthy dietary pattern slow the rate of cognitive decline and decrease the risk of dementia?
- Does diet qualify as an important modifiable risk factor for dementia to be targeted for disease prevention and risk reduction?
- Has healthy diet and lifestyle awareness increased over the past years in response to dementia prevention?
Research Design
A correlational research design will examine the relationship between diet and dementia and lifestyle response over the years. This study is a good fit for the correlational design since it examines the relationship between two or more variables without interfering with the process. In this context, the research will systematically search databases to identify articles related to diet and dementia to answer the research questions. Therefore, multiple analyses will be conducted on different data sets derived from the selected research. Subsequently, the data from this research will be used to identify a pattern and correlation between dietary patterns, diet quality, and dementia.
A correlational research method involves observing two or more variables to establish a statistically corresponding relationship. It seeks to pinpoint elements that are connected in some way so that altering one affects the other. This research approach is descriptive and does not use scientific methodology and hypotheses like experimental research. Consequently, the study will take a correlational rather than causality perspective.
A correlation is used to understand the relationships between variables, but it does not mean it causes the relationship. Causation is when one thing directly influences the other, and it is only possible to conclude that upon experimenting. Some studies have found no associations between diet and risk of developing dementia (Glans et al., 2022). Even if there is other supporting evidence on the association between diet and dementia, it is still possible to make some tentative causal claims even from observational studies. Therefore, the claim in this study is a correlation rather than a causation.
Questions Used
Healthy eating is a prerequisite for good health and physical well-being. However, what kind of foods and lifestyle modifications people should integrate to minimize the risk of dementia is varied (Shannon et al., 2023). A healthy diet can provide the brain with the building blocks it requires to build healthy new cells and fend off everyday stress can minimize neurological conditions. Nevertheless, current evidence is inconclusive, raising more questions about whether valid conclusions can be reached with the limited dementia cases in these studies (de Crom et al., 2022; Glans et al., 2022). Another important question is whether diet-related correlations to decreased dementia might be partially explained by reverse causation and lingering lifestyle factors.
Analysis Methods
Content analysis will be used as the primary method to contextualize findings from related research. To find pertinent publications published during the last five years, the study will carefully examine the databases of PubMed, Web of Science, and Cumulative Index for Nursing and Allied Health. Prospective articles published in English identified in the systematic review will be included in the meta-analysis. It will entail content analysis to investigate the outcomes of each identified study and grouping the findings.
This paper’s main objective is a preliminary investigation of dietary factors associated with dementia. Therefore, the choice and number of documents will be guided by the research questions and include only research articles. Similarly, the word coding scheme for analysis should be guided by the research questions and iteratively applied to the selected papers. For example, articles matching search phrases like “diet,” “dietary pattern,” “quality diet,” and a combination with “dementia” shall be included for analysis. Accordingly, diet is the independent variable, and dementia is the dependent variable.
Finding the level of association between each explanatory factor and the prevalence of dementia will be the first step in the correlational analysis. The first analysis will rely only on the Pearson and Spearman correlation tests (Sticker et al., 2022). A second analysis should include other tests, such as partial correlation analysis or separate linear regression, of association, to remove the effects of age, race, and gender (Stecker et al., 2022). A strong correlation on the Spearman rank indicates diet is associated with dementia risks, excluding related effects of age, gender, or race. Similarly, a weaker correlation shows no significant association between diet and dementia risks.
Conclusion
The study aimed to determine the relationship between diet and dementia prevalence using prior studies on dietary patterns and risk factors. Due to conflicting findings, there is insufficient evidence to say whether diet reduces dementia risk (Glans et al., 2022; Liu et al., 2020). Whether reverse causation and lingering lifestyle factors may partially explain diet-related correlations with decreased dementia is a major concern. The study will entail systematic database searches for articles related to diet and dementia and use correlational design to analyze different data sets. Primarily, content analysis will be used to contextualize findings from related research.
References
de Crom, T. O. E., Mooldijk, S. S., Ikram, M. K., Ikram, M. A., & Voortman, T. (2022). MIND diet and the risk of dementia: A population-based study. Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy, 14(1), 1–10. Web.
Glans, I., Sonestedt, E., Nägga, K., Gustavsson, A.-M., González-Padilla, E., Borne, Y., Stomrud, E., Melander, O., Nilsson, P., Palmqvist, S., & Hansson, O. (2022). Association between dietary habits in midlife with dementia incidence over 20 years. Neurology, 100(1), 28–37. Web.
Liu, Y.-H., Gao, X., Na, M., Kris-Etherton, P. M., Mitchell, D. C., & Jensen, G. L. (2020). Dietary pattern, diet quality, and dementia: A systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, 78(1), 151–168. Web.
Shannon, O. M., Ranson, J. M., Gregory, S., Macpherson, H., Milte, C., Lentjes, M., Mulligan, A., McEvoy, C., Griffiths, A., Matu, J., Hill, T. R., Adamson, A., Siervo, M., Minihane, A. M., Muniz-Tererra, G., Ritchie, C., Mathers, J. C., Llewellyn, D. J., & Stevenson, E. (2023). Mediterranean diet adherence is associated with lower dementia risk, independent of genetic predisposition: Findings from the UK biobank prospective cohort study. BMC Medicine, 21(1), 1–13. Web.
Stecker, M., Stecker, M., Reiss, A., & Kasselman, L. (2022). Dementia and diet, methodological and statistical issues: A pilot study. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 14, 1–14. Web.
Takeuchi, H., & Kawashima, R. (2021). Diet and dementia: A prospective study. Nutrients, 13(12), 1–12. Web.