ASSOCIATION BETWEEN MEDITERRANEAN DIET ADHERENCE AND RESTING-STATE FRONTAL EEG SPECTRAL ACTIVITY IN MEDICAL STUDENTS: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY
12TH INTERNATIONAL IZMIR CONGRESS ON MEDICINE, NURSING, MIDWIFERY, AND HEALTH SCIENCES PROCEEDINGS BOOK, İzmir, Türkiye, 15 - 17 Ağustos 2026, ss.1001-1011, (Tam Metin Bildiri)
- Yayın Türü: Bildiri / Tam Metin Bildiri
- Basıldığı Şehir: İzmir
- Basıldığı Ülke: Türkiye
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.1001-1011
- Uşak Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
The Mediterranean diet has been
associated with favorable cognitive and brain-related outcomes, but evidence
regarding its relationship with objective electrophysiological measures in
healthy young adults remains limited. This study aimed to investigate the
association between Mediterranean diet adherence and frontal resting-state
electroencephalographic (EEG) spectral activity in medical students. This
cross-sectional study included 66 undergraduate medical students. Mediterranean
diet adherence was assessed using the 14-item Mediterranean Diet Adherence
Screener (MEDAS-14). Resting-state EEG was recorded from Fp1 and Fp2 during
consecutive 120-s eyes-closed (EC) and eyes-open (EO) conditions. EEG signals
were segmented into non-overlapping 2-s epochs and subjected to automated
artifact rejection. Participants with at least 60 s of artifact-free EEG in
both conditions were included in EEG analyses. Alpha (8–13 Hz) and beta (13–30
Hz) relative power and alpha reactivity were evaluated. Associations between
MEDAS-14 scores and EEG parameters were examined using Spearman’s rank
correlation, followed by exploratory multivariable linear regression adjusting
for age, sex, and body mass index. The mean MEDAS-14 score was 5.06 ± 1.86, and
valid EEG data were available for 53 participants. Alpha relative power was
significantly higher during EC than EO [0.239 (0.175–0.300) vs. 0.099
(0.072–0.114), respectively; p < 0.001], whereas beta relative power did not
differ significantly between conditions (p = 0.186). MEDAS-14 score showed a
weak negative correlation with EO beta relative power (ρ = −0.288, p = 0.037),
while no significant associations were observed with alpha relative power, EC
beta relative power, or alpha reactivity. In the exploratory multivariable
model, the association between MEDAS-14 score and log-transformed EO beta
relative power was no longer statistically significant after adjustment for
age, sex, and BMI (standardized β = −0.221, p = 0.123); the overall model was
also non-significant (p = 0.151). Greater Mediterranean diet adherence was
weakly associated with lower frontal beta relative power during eyes-open rest
in medical students; however, this association was not independent of
demographic and anthropometric covariates. These findings should be considered
preliminary and hypothesis-generating, and larger longitudinal or
interventional studies are needed to clarify whether Mediterranean dietary
patterns are associated with resting-state cortical oscillatory activity in
young adults.