Dietary Patterns and Glucoregulation: Their Role in Neurocognitive Health and Age-Related Decline

This thesis investigates the relationship between dietary patterns, glucose regulation, and neurocognitive decline in aging populations. It addresses mixed findings in diet-brain health research through a systematic review, develops a reproducible dietary scoring workflow, and examines white matter microstructure using advanced neuroimaging. Two empirical studies explore the impact of healthy dietary patterns on cognitive aging and brain connectivity differences associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus. While age correlated with poorer cognitive function and white matter integrity, dietary adherence showed inconsistent effects. The thesis emphasizes the need for standardized methods and reproducibility in future large-scale studies to better understand the complex interplay between diet, glucoregulation, and brain integrity in aging.