Associations of Dietary Patterns With Brain Morphology in Children: Results From a Prospective Population-Based Study

Abstract Objectives Dietary patterns (DPs) in childhood have been associated with neurodevelopmental disorders and cognitive performance in children. However, little is known about the underlying neurobiological mechanisms. We aimed to examine associations of DPs in early and mid-childhood with pre-adolescent brain morphology in a large population-based cohort. Methods We studied children's DPs at ages 1 and 8 and their associations with volumetric (total brain, hippocampus and amygdala) and surface-based brain measures (cortical thickness, surface area and gyrification) at age 10 years in a prospective population-based cohort in the Netherlands. High-resolution T1-weighted magnetic resonance images were collected in 3210 children. Brain measures were extracted using FreeSurfer. Dietary intake was assessed using age-specific food-frequency questionnaires. We derived DPs as diet quality scores based on dietary guidelines and identified Western and Prudent DPs using principal component analyses. We used multiple linear regression and surface-based analyses adjusting for multiple testing (Benjamini-Hochberg method) to examine associations with brain measures. Results Higher adherence to a Western DP at age 8 years was associated with a smaller total brain volume (B = –7.84, 95% CI –13.06, –2.61), whereas higher adherence to a Prudent DP at age 8 years was associated with a larger total brain volume (B = 8.45, 95% CI 4.25, 12.65). In addition, children with higher diet quality and better adherence to a Prudent DP showed greater gyrification and larger surface area, mostly clustered in the prefrontal cortex. At age 1 year, no statistically significant associations between DPs and global or surface-based brain measures were observed. No volumetric differences were found in the hippocampus or amygdala at both ages. Conclusions We are the first to show in a large population-based setting that dietary patterns in mid-childhood are associated with brain structural alterations, with a prudent diet being linked to a more optimal development. These findings suggest that a healthy diet is important for children's brain development, which may explain part of the previously demonstrated relation between dietary patterns and psychosocial well-being and cognitive performance in children. Funding Sources This project did not receive any funding.