This brilliant study linked flavonoid consumption to reduced mortality risks in Parkinson's patients.

Flavonoids are well known for their potential to exert neuroprotective benefits, yet evidence of their role in improving survival rates among individuals with Parkinson disease (PD) remains lacking. In their study, Zhang et. al, aimed to prospectively study the association between pre- and post-diagnosis flavonoid intakes and risk of mortality among individuals with PD identified from two large ongoing cohorts of US men and women.

The study included 599 women from the Nurses’ Health Study and 652 men from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study who were newly diagnosed with PD during follow-up. Dietary intakes of total flavonoid and its subclasses together with major flavonoid-rich foods (tea, apples, berries, orange and orange juice, and red wine) were repeatedly assessed based on a validated food frequency questionnaire every 4 years. Mortality was ascertained via the National Death Index and state vital statistics records.

The following results were obtained:

• 944 deaths during 32–34 years of follow-up were reported. A higher total flavonoid intake before PD diagnosis was associated with a lower future risk for all-cause mortality in men but not in women, after adjusting for age, smoking status, total energy intake, and other covariates.
• For flavonoid subclasses, the highest quartile of anthocyanins, flavones, and flavan-3-ols intakes before diagnosis had a lower mortality risk compared to the lowest quartile; for berries and red wine, participants consuming >=3 servings/week had a lower risk compared to <1 serving/month.
• After PD diagnosis, greater consumptions of total flavonoid, subclasses including flavonols, anthocyanins, flavan-3-ols, and polymers, and berries and red wine, were associated with lower mortality risk .

In conclusion, among individuals with PD, higher consumption of flavonoids, especially anthocyanins and flavan-3-ols, and flavonoid-rich food such as berries and red wine, was likely to be associated with a lower risk of mortality.

The role of flavonoids in diminishing parkinson's mortality risk will be presented in our 15th World Congress on Polyphenols Applications on September 28-30, 2022- Valencia Spain.

Article DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000013275