# Dietary approach to stop hypertension (DASH), but not Mediterranean and MIND, dietary pattern protects against Parkinson's disease

## TL;DR

The DASH diet may help protect against Parkinson's disease, but the Mediterranean and MIND diets do not show similar benefits.

## Contribution

This study identifies the DASH diet as a potential protective factor against Parkinson's disease.

## Key findings

- High adherence to the DASH diet was associated with an 86-87% lower risk of Parkinson's disease.
- The DASH diet showed a 15% reduced risk of Parkinson's disease compared to low adherence.
- Mediterranean and MIND diets were not significantly linked to Parkinson's disease risk.

## Abstract

The neuroprotective effects of dietary patterns have been reported in previous studies. This study aimed to examine the association between the dietary approach to stop hypertension (DASH), the Mediterranean diet (MeDi), and the Mediterranean‐DASH intervention for neurodegenerative delay (MIND) with the severity and risk of Parkinson's disease (PD). In this comparative cross‐sectional study, 120 patients with PD and 50 healthy participants participated. Adherence to DASH, MeDi, and MIND dietary patterns was determined according to the dietary intake data using a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). The Severity of PD was determined by the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS). The mean score of the DASH was significantly lower in the PD group compared to the healthy group (p = .006), but the mean score of MeDi and MIND did not significantly differ between the two groups (p > .05). Also, the mean score of the DASH was significantly lower in men than in women in the healthy group (p = .018). High adherence to the DASH diet decreased the risk of PD by 15% (OR = 0.856, 95% CI: 0.751, 0.976, p = .020). Participants in quartiles 3 and 4 of the DASH dietary pattern had 86% (p = .003) and 87% (p = .007), respectively, lower risk of PD. MeDi and MIND diets were not significantly associated with the risk of PD. There was no significant association between dietary patterns and the severity of PD. The findings indicate that high adherence to the DASH dietary pattern may protect against PD.

There was no significant association between dietary patterns and the severity of PD. The findings indicate that high adherence to the DASH dietary pattern may protect against PD.