More Olive Oil Could Mean Fewer Dementia-Related Deaths

WASHINGTON — Adding more olive oil to your diet may decrease your chances of death from dementia-related diseases, according to a prospective cohort study of over 90,000 adults observed over 28 years.

Consuming around ½ tablespoon (7 g) of olive oil per day was associated with a 28% lower risk of dementia-related death compared with never or rarely consuming olive oil, irrespective of diet quality, according to a report from Anne-Julie Tessier, R.D., Ph.D., of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts, and co-authors.

These results suggest that olive oil intake represents a potential strategy to reduce dementia mortality risk.

The researchers shared their results in JAMA Network Open.

The researchers report that one-third of older adults die with Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia and while deaths from diseases such as stroke and heart disease have been decreasing over the past 20 years, age-standardized dementia mortality rates have been on the rise.

The researchers studied data from the Nurses’ Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. The population included women from the NHS and men from the HPFS who were free of cardiovascular disease and cancer at baseline. Data were analyzed from May 2022 to July 2023.

Both studies were conducted between 1990 and 2018, with olive oil intake assessed every four years using a food frequency questionnaire. Dementia-related mortality was ascertained from death records.

This study found that in U.S. adults, particularly women, consuming more olive oil was associated with lower risk of dementia-related mortality, regardless of diet quality.

The authors noted several study limitations, including the possibility of reverse causation, due to the observational nature of the study.

Also, higher olive oil intake could indicate a healthier diet and higher socioeconomic status, although the results remained consistent after accounting for these factors, the authors said.

The study population included only health care professionals and was primarily non-Hispanic White people.

The authors note, substituting olive oil intake for margarine and mayonnaise was associated with lower risk of dementia mortality and may be a potential strategy to improve longevity free of dementia. These findings extend the current dietary recommendations of choosing olive oil and other vegetable oils to the context of cognitive health and related mortality.

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