Project Overview
The influence of dairy consumption on brain health has received little attention, despite evidence that dairy foods may be protective of hypertension, diabetes, and stroke, which are important to brain health, including prevention of cognitive decline. This study will investigate associations between dairy consumption, MRI assessed brain imaging, and cognitive function changes, and will explore potential underlying mechanisms.
What Will the Research Team Do?
The research team will investigate the association of dairy food consumption with brain health in 4,150 participants, from the landmark multicountry prospective cohort study (PURE) over a 6-year period.
The objectives of this project are to:
- Determine the association of dairy consumption with cognitive function, MRI indices of brain health (and measures of oxidative stress, inflammation, and glucose metabolism.
- Examine whether dairy intake (and associated measures of oxidative stress, inflammation, and glucose metabolism) is associated with changes in cognitive function and anatomical evidence of new brain injury during a 6-year follow-up period.
Principal Investigator
Andrew Mente
McMaster University
Co-Investigators
Mahshid Dehghan
Population Health Research Institute
Eric Smith
University of Calgary
Martin O'Donnell
University of Galway
Guillaume Pare
McMaster University
Shrikant Bangdiwala
Population Health Research Institute
Raed Joundi
Population Health Research Institute
Salim Yusuf
Population Health Research Institute
Key Words
- Brain damage, cognitive function, diet
Period: 2023-2025
Last Updated: February 01, 2025
Funding Partners
Note: As per the research agreement, aside from providing financial support, the funders have no decision-making role in the conduct of the studies, data collection, and analysis or interpretation of the data. Researchers are independent in conducting their studies, own their data, and report the outcomes regardless of the results. The decision to publish the results rests entirely with the researchers.