According to a study published by Oxford University’s The Journal of Nutrition, the previously-established association between high flavonoid intake and a reduced risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and related dementias (ADRD) could be attributed to a lowered white matter hyperintensities volume based on MRI scans of 2,086 participants, all of whom belonged to a study cohort called the Framingham Heart Study Offspring cohort, which was first established in 1970.
 
White matter hyperintensities are a common finding on brain MRIs in older patients who’ve experienced either stroke or dementia, and are associated with cognitive impairment, a tripled risk of stroke, and doubled risk of dementia, according to a study published by the Journal of the American Heart Association. They are areas of myelin injury, and clinically are considered indices of vascular damage in the brain, and might indicate a connection between vascular risk and Alzheimer’s disorder, the authors of this study wrote.
 
White matter hyperintensities volume (WHMV), total brain tissue volume (TBV) and hippocampal volume (HV) were three measures assessed among the cohort in this trial. All of the eligible participants in this study had been stroke-free by Exam 7 of the Framingham Offspring study, which took place between 1998 and 2001.
 
In order assess correlations, participants were subject to a food frequency questionnaire at three points over a seven-year time span from previous cohort studies, which recorded subjects’ frequency of foods consumed over the past year from a list of 126 foods of standard serving sizes, while also allowing participants to add up to 4 extra food items that are essential components, and intakes of dietary supplements and other specifics were also captured.
 
The exposure to flavonoids was then broken down based on participant’s questionnaires into six distinct flavonoid categories based on the classes typically consumed in the U.S. diet. These included flavonols, flavones, flavonones, flavan-3-ols, athocyanins, and flavonoid polymers.
 
In addition to brain MRI measures, participant characteristics such as demographic, clinical, lifestyle, and key dietary intake information was captured.
 
“Findings from multiple linear regression models showed significant trends toward smaller WMHV with higher intakes total flavonoids, flavan-3-ols, and flavonoid polymers,” researchers wrote. Additionally, they found that higher total brain tissue volume was associateed with increased anthocyanin intake.
 
“In conclusion, our results add value to the literature that flavonoids may reduce the risk of ADRD by eliciting protective effects on brain health through decreasing the development of white matter hyperintensities, a strong predictor of neuropsychological impairment and ADRD. In light of the ever-growing prevalence of ADRD, flavonoids represent an alternative dietary strategy that holds significant promise in combating age-related cognitive decline. Longitudinal studies assessing change in these brain MRI measures with relatively long follow-up periods in older populations are warranted to confirm these findings,” the authors concluded.