Dietary Patterns and Cognitive Decline in Older Adults: Findings from the Western Australia Memory Study

Blagojevic Castro, Carolina; Gardener, Samantha L.; Jahan, Farzana; Chen, Juliana; Brown, Belinda M.; Loo, Ruey L.; Taddei, Kevin; Rainey-Smith, Stephanie R.; Weinborn, Michael; Reis, Ana Caroline R. dos; Garg, Manohar L.; Martins, Ralph N.; Sohrabi, Hamid R.

doi:10.3390/nu18162592

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Dietary Patterns and Cognitive Decline in Older Adults: Findings from the Western Australia Memory Study

by

Carolina Blagojevic Castro

^1,2,3,4,*,

Samantha L. Gardener

^2,5,6,7

,

Farzana Jahan

^1,8

,

Juliana Chen

⁹

,

Belinda M. Brown

^1,7,

Ruey L. Loo

¹⁰

,

Kevin Taddei

^2,5,

Stephanie R. Rainey-Smith

^1,2,3,7,

Michael Weinborn

¹¹,

Ana Caroline R. dos Reis

¹²,

Manohar L. Garg

⁴

,

Ralph N. Martins

^2,4,5

and

Hamid R. Sohrabi

^1,2,3,4,5,*

¹

Centre for Healthy Ageing, Health Futures Institute, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia

²

Alzheimer’s Research Australia, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia

³

School of Psychology, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia

⁴

Macquarie Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Macquarie University, Macquarie Park, NSW 2109, Australia

⁵

The UWA Medical School, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009, Australia

⁶

Edith Cowan University, School of Medical and Health Sciences, Joondalup, WA 6027, Australia

⁷

Lifestyle Approaches Towards Cognitive Health Research Group, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia

⁸

School of Mathematics, Statistics, Chemistry and Physics, College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia

⁹

The University of Sydney, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia

¹⁰

Australian National Phenome Centre and Centre for Computational and Systems Medicine, Health Futures Institute, Murdoch University, Perth, WA 6150, Australia

¹¹

School of Psychological Science, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia

¹²

Department of Life Sciences, State University of Bahia (UNEB), Salvador 41150-000, BA, Brazil

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Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Nutrients 2026, 18(16), 2592; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu18162592

Submission received: 12 June 2026 / Revised: 24 July 2026 / Accepted: 5 August 2026 / Published: 7 August 2026

(This article belongs to the Section Nutrition and Neuro Sciences)

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Abstract

Background: Preventive strategies, including adherence to specific dietary patterns, have received increasing attention as approaches to reduce cognitive decline and dementia risk. However, findings remain inconsistent, partly due to differences in dietary assessment methods, cognitive outcomes, and THE consideration of genetic susceptibility factors such as apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype. Methods: This study examined associations between dietary patterns and longitudinal cognitive change in 185 older adults without dementia from the Western Australia Memory Study. Participants completed a food frequency questionnaire at baseline and underwent comprehensive neuropsychological assessments at baseline and up to five follow-up visits at 18-month intervals. Composite scores were generated for six cognitive domains and the Preclinical Alzheimer’s Cognitive Composite (PACC). Results: Western and Prudent dietary pattern scores were analysed using linear mixed-effects models stratified by APOE ε4 carrier status. Among APOE ε4 carriers, greater adherence to a Western dietary pattern was associated with a faster decline in attention (p = 0.016), whereas no significant associations were observed for the Prudent dietary pattern or among APOE ε4 non-carriers. This association was attenuated after excluding participants with possible baseline cognitive impairment (MoCA < 23). Conclusion: These findings suggest that adherence to a Western dietary pattern may accelerate cognitive decline in individuals genetically at risk for Alzheimer’s disease, highlighting the importance of considering gene–diet interactions when developing dietary strategies for dementia prevention.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; APOE ε4 genotype; attention; cognition; cognitive decline; dietary patterns

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MDPI and ACS Style

Blagojevic Castro, C.; Gardener, S.L.; Jahan, F.; Chen, J.; Brown, B.M.; Loo, R.L.; Taddei, K.; Rainey-Smith, S.R.; Weinborn, M.; Reis, A.C.R.d.; et al. Dietary Patterns and Cognitive Decline in Older Adults: Findings from the Western Australia Memory Study. Nutrients 2026, 18, 2592. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu18162592

AMA Style

Blagojevic Castro C, Gardener SL, Jahan F, Chen J, Brown BM, Loo RL, Taddei K, Rainey-Smith SR, Weinborn M, Reis ACRd, et al. Dietary Patterns and Cognitive Decline in Older Adults: Findings from the Western Australia Memory Study. Nutrients. 2026; 18(16):2592. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu18162592

Chicago/Turabian Style

Blagojevic Castro, Carolina, Samantha L. Gardener, Farzana Jahan, Juliana Chen, Belinda M. Brown, Ruey L. Loo, Kevin Taddei, Stephanie R. Rainey-Smith, Michael Weinborn, Ana Caroline R. dos Reis, and et al. 2026. "Dietary Patterns and Cognitive Decline in Older Adults: Findings from the Western Australia Memory Study" Nutrients 18, no. 16: 2592. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu18162592

APA Style

Blagojevic Castro, C., Gardener, S. L., Jahan, F., Chen, J., Brown, B. M., Loo, R. L., Taddei, K., Rainey-Smith, S. R., Weinborn, M., Reis, A. C. R. d., Garg, M. L., Martins, R. N., & Sohrabi, H. R. (2026). Dietary Patterns and Cognitive Decline in Older Adults: Findings from the Western Australia Memory Study. Nutrients, 18(16), 2592. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu18162592

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Dietary Patterns and Cognitive Decline in Older Adults: Findings from the Western Australia Memory Study

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