Influence
October 14, 2025

Validation of a MIND diet screener in older adults

Published in Alzheimer’s and Dementia Journal. Here is a link to the article.

Regenstrief Institute author: Daniel O. Clark, PhD, Sujuan Gao, PhD (affiliate scientist), Frederick W. Unverzagt, PhD (affiliate scientist)

A study of 92 older adults from the Indiana Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center found that a brief 15-item MIND diet screener closely matched results from a comprehensive food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). The screener showed strong correlation and classification accuracy, effectively distinguishing diet quality and performing consistently across diagnostic groups. Researchers concluded that the MIND diet screener is a valid, time-efficient tool for estimating adherence to the MIND diet in older adults, with future studies needed to confirm findings using biomarkers.

Authors:

Desarae A Dempsey 1,2, Puja Agarwal 3,4,5, Shane Fernandez 1,2,6,7, Jared R Brosch 1,8, Sujuan Gao 1,9, Daniel O Clark 10, Frederick W Unverzagt 1,11, Liana G Apostolova 1,2,8,12, David G Clark 1,8, Martin R Farlow 1,2,8, Sunu Mathew 1,2, Sophia Wang 1,8,10,11, Michelle Quirke 1,2, Yolanda Graham-Dotson 1,2, Colette Blach 13, Leyla Schimmel 14, Rima Kaddurah-Daouk 14, Andrew J Saykin 1,2,8,11,12, Shannon L Risacher 1,2,15; Alzheimer Gut Microbiome Project Consortium

Affiliations

1Indiana Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.

2Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.

3Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA.

4Department of Internal Medicine, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA.

5Department of Clinical Nutrition, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA.

6Centre for Precision Health, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Western Australia, Australia.

7Collaborative Genomics and Translation Group, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Western Australia, Australia.

8Department of Neurology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.

9Department of Biostatistics and Health Data Science, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.

10Department of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indiana University Center for Aging Research, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.

11Department of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.

12Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.

13Duke Molecular Physiology Institute, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA.

14Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA.

15Wake Forest Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, Sticht Center for Healthy Aging and Alzheimer’s Prevention, Medical Center Blvd, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.

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