Farina, F. R., Bridgeman, K., Ntailianis, G., Griffith, J. W., Koychev, I., Malhotra, P., Muniz-Terrera, G., O;Brien, J.T., Lawlor, B., Ritchie, C.W. and Naci, L.

Aging and Mental Health (2026)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2026.2681155

Summary

Dementia-related fear can influence help-seeking and engagement with prevention, yet it is unclear whether these responses vary with objectively measured dementia risk in midlife. This study which recruited participants from the PREVENT dementia programme, tested whether midlife risk was associated with subsequent dementia-related fear and avoidance. Higher midlife risk was associated with greater fear and avoidance. The study concluded that emotional and behavioral responses to dementia risk are evident in midlife, highlighting their potential relevance for mental health-informed communication and prevention strategies.

BMJ Mental Health (2025)

DOI: Intimate partner violence, traumatic brain injury and long-term mental health outcomes in midlife: the Drake IPV study | BMJ Mental Health

Summary

This study explored mental health conditions in individuals who have experienced physical abuse in intimate relationships in the past. Up to 30% of women worldwide experience IPV, and this often involves blows to the head which can lead to traumatic brain injuries (TBI). TBI can increase the risk of mental health conditions and dementia. Survivors of physical abuse had higher rates of mental health issues. Compared to those without a history of physical abuse, survivors were more likely to experience depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), even decades after the abuse had ended. TBI made mental health problems worse, among survivors, those with a history of TBI were more likely to have PTSD or several ongoing mental health issues in mid-life.

These findings highlight the need for long-term mental health support for survivors, even decades after the abuse ended. They also suggest that healthcare professionals should assess head injuries when treating survivors, as TBI could contribute to worsening mental health in both the short and long term.

Craig W Ritchie, Katie Bridgeman, Sarah Gregory, John T O’Brien, Samuel O Danso, Maria-Eleni Dounavi, Isabelle Carriere, David Driscoll, Robert Hillary, Ivan Koychev, Brian Lawlor, Lorina Naci, Li Su, Audrey Low, Elijah Mak, Paresh Malhotra, Jean Manson, Riccardo Marioni, Lee Murphy, Georgios Ntailianis, William Stewart, Graciela Muniz-Terrera, Karen Ritchie

Brain Communications (2024)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.numecd.2023.07.020

Summary

The PREVENT cohort offers a novel dataset to explore midlife risk factors and early signs of neurodegenerative disease. The  cohort includes 700 participants recruited across five sites in the United Kingdom and Ireland (Cambridge, Dublin, Edinburgh, London and Oxford). At baseline, participants had a mean age of 51.2 years, with the majority female (n=433, 61.9%). There was a near equal distribution of participants with and without a parental history of dementia (51.4% vs 48.6%) and a relatively high prevalence of APOEɛ4 carriers (n=264, 38.0%). Participants were highly educated (16.7 ± 3.44 years of education), and mainly of European Ancestry (n=672, 95.9%). This paper provides an overview of the study protocol and presents the first summary results from the initial baseline data to describe the cohort.

Sarah Gregory, Alex Griffiths, Amy Jennings, Fiona C. Malcolmson, Jamie Matu, Anne-Marie Minihane, Graciela Muniz-Terrera, Craig W. Ritchie, Solange Parra-Soto, Emma Stevenson, Rebecca Townsend, Nicola Ann Ward, Oliver Shannon

Nutrition & Metabolism (2024)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.numecd.2023.07.020

Summary

The Eatwell Guide is the UK government’s recommendation for a healthy diet. Although other healthy patterns of eating have been linked to better health (heart health and brain health), few studies have looked at the Eatwell Guide. Using data from PREVENT, we found that eating in line with the Eatwell Guide was associated with lower blood pressure and a lower body mass index (or BMI). These are both important risk factors for dementia, and as such eating a healthy diet, such as the Eatwell Guide, may be helpful in reducing dementia risk.

Sarah Gregory, Georgios Ntailianis, Oliver Shannon, Emma Stevenson, Craig Ritchie, Katie Wells, Graciela Muniz-Terrera

Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular diseases (2023)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.numecd.2023.07.020

Summary

A Mediterranean diet is rich in fruit, vegetables, pulses, olive oil and oily fish. People who eat this diet have been shown to have better cardiovascular health such as lower blood pressure and lower body mass index (BMI). The aim of this study was to (1) understand if the Mediterranean diet was associated with better cardiovascular health in the PREVENT dementia cohort and (2) to see if this differed between men and women. Three different scores were created which represent how close an individual’s diet represented a Mediterranean diet. Associations between these diet scores and measures of cardiovascular health, which included: blood pressure, BMI, waist-to-hip ratio, cholesterol, triglycerides and fasting glucose were then tested. The study found that higher Mediterranean diet scores were associated with lower blood pressure, lower BMI and lower cardiovascular risk scores and found these results were particularly consistent for women. This suggests the importance of considering sex and gender in the development of nutritional recommendations to improve cardiovascular health.