Antioxidant Capacity of Diet Not Tied to Dementia, Stroke Risk

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For older adults, the total antioxidant capacity of their diet does not affect the risk of dementia or stroke.

(HealthDay News) – For older adults, the total antioxidant capacity of their diet does not affect the risk of dementia or stroke, according to a study published online Feb. 20 in Neurology.

Elizabeth E. Devore, ScD, of the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and colleagues prospectively studied 5,395 individuals aged ≥55 years, without dementia, to evaluate the impact of dietary antioxidants on the risk of dementia, stroke, and structural brain volumes. The total antioxidant capacity of the diet was assessed using the ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay.

During a median follow-up of 13.8-years, the researchers identified about 600 cases each of dementia and stroke. After multivariable adjustment, there was no correlation between dietary FRAP scores and the risk of dementia or stroke. No relationship was observed between FRAP scores and brain tissue volumes.

“Overall, we found little association between total antioxidant capacity of the diet, measured by FRAP, and major neurologic diseases of the elderly in the Rotterdam Study,” the authors write.

Abstract
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