Adherence to the mind diet, genetic susceptibility, and glaucoma prevalence
Joëlle Vergroesen, Caroline Klaver, Wishal RamdasPurpose: The Mediterranean‐DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet may be associated with glaucoma. We aimed to confirm this association and to identify who could benefit most from this diet.
Methods: This study consisted of 316 (clinically confirmed) glaucoma patients and 107 healthy controls from the Erasmus Glaucoma Cohort. Dietary data was collected using validated food frequency questionnaires. The association between MIND diet adherence and glaucoma prevalence was analyzed using multivariable logistic regression analyses. We further stratified on family history of glaucoma. The association between family history of glaucoma and MIND diet adherence was analyzed using multivariable linear regression analyses. All analyses were adjusted for age, gender, BMI, and energy intake.
Results: Adherence to the MIND diet was significantly associated with glaucoma prevalence, but only in participants without a positive family history (Odds ratio [OR] with [95% confidence interval (CI)]: 0.84 [0.71‐1.00]). The more unfavorable the diet, the higher the prevalence of glaucoma (~2 times in both the group with and without positive family history). In the group with a positive family history, the OR increased from 5.8 to 10.9 in individuals with an unfavorable diet. Having affected relatives may therefore be an incentive to adhere to a healthy diet. Indeed, a positive family history appeared associated with greater MIND diet adherence (Beta [95%CI]: 0.32 [‐0.01‐0.64]). This was observed particularly in glaucoma patients (Beta [95%CI]: 0.46 [0.09‐0.84]), and more distinct when it affected a first degree relative (Beta [95%CI]: 0.58 [0.16‐1.00]).
Conclusions: The MIND diet may be associated with glaucoma. These dietary recommendations may particularly be interesting for glaucoma patients without a positive family history of glaucoma. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of this diet in slowing down glaucoma progression is yet to be determined by longitudinal studies.