PROMED-COG: PROtein enriched MEDiterranean diet to combat undernutrition and promote healthy neuroCOGnitive ageing in older adults
Study Code / Acronym
PROMED-COGAward Number
BB/V019201/1Status / Stage
ActiveDates
1 March 2021 -31 August 2023
Duration (calculated)
02 years 05 monthsFunder(s)
BBSRC (UKRI)Funding Amount
£263,746.00Funder/Grant study page
BBSRC UKRIContracted Centre
Queen's University of BelfastContracted Centre Webpage
Principal Investigator
Dr Claire McEvoyPI Contact
c.mcevoy@qub.ac.ukPI ORCID
0000-0001-8512-3293WHO Catergories
Methodologies and approaches for risk reduction researchRisk reduction intervention
Understanding Underlying Disease
Disease Type
Dementia (Unspecified)CPEC Review Info
| Reference ID | 373 |
|---|---|
| Researcher | Reside Team |
| Published | 12/06/2023 |
Data
| Study Code / Acronym | PROMED-COG |
|---|---|
| Award Number | BB/V019201/1 |
| Status / Stage | Active |
| Start Date | 20210301 |
| End Date | 20230831 |
| Duration (calculated) | 02 years 05 months |
| Funder/Grant study page | BBSRC UKRI |
| Contracted Centre | Queen's University of Belfast |
| Contracted Centre Webpage | |
| Funding Amount | £263,746.00 |
Abstract
Dementia is a major public health challenge owing to its increasing prevalence and impact on disability and quality of life among older adults. Undernutrition, defined as a ‘state resulting from inadequate food intake and/or nutrient deficiencies that leads to an altered body composition and weight loss’, is common in cognitive impairment and has many adverse consequences. Undernourished dementia patients experience faster functional and cognitive decline, more psychiatric symptoms, and greater risk of hospitalisation and death, compared to those who are adequately nourished. Importantly, weight loss increases dementia risk by 30-40% and precedes a diagnosis of cognitive impairment or dementia by at least one decade, providing a window of opportunity to intervene with strategies to counteract undernutrition and delay, or prevent, the onset of dementia in later life. No prior studies have evaluated the effect of diet and exercise on cognitive performance. The PROMED-EX trial is a single blind randomised controlled trial in 105 undernourished adults with subjective cognitive decline to: (i) test the effects of a protein optimised Mediterranean diet, with and without exercise, on nutritional status and cognitive performance; (ii) generate data on the mechanistic pathways by which the diet and exercise intervention may act to influence nutritional status and cognition, and (iii) understand the acceptability of diet and exercise to support better nutrition status and cognitive performance. PROMED-EX is part of a European Consortium project (PROMED-COG) to better understand the role of undernutrition in dementia risk and and how modifications of diet and exercise behaviour can act to reduce the burden of undernutrition and neurodegeneration. The resulting scientific knowledge will be translated into public and practice recommendations to prevent undernutrition for healthy neurocognitive ageing in older European citizens.
Aims
The aims of the PROMED-EX trial are to: (i) determine the effect of a protein enriched Mediterranean diet, with and without exercise, on cognitive function; (ii) understand how a protein enriched Mediterranean diet and exercise may act to influence nutritional status, and; (iii) evaluate the acceptability of diet and exercise to support better nutrition status and cognitive performance in older adults with subjective memory complaint. PROMED-EX is part of a larger European project to study how undernutrition can affect dementia risk in later life.