BackgroundThe potential association between temporal dimensions of eating and cognition/cognitive declines has been poorly investigated so far. ObjectiveAim of this study was to examine relationships between eating frequency, timing and time window and cognitive performance and novel Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) biomarkers in cognitively healthy and mildly cognitively impaired middle-aged and older adults. MethodsCross-sectional data were derived from the ALBION cohort study, including people ≥40-years old who have a positive family history of cognitive disorder or cognition-related concerns. Cognitive performance was assessed by a battery of neuropsychological tests. Amyloid beta (Αβ42), a biomarker of AD-related pathology, was measured in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Eating frequency, timing and the eating time window between the first and the last meal were estimated using time related information recorded in four 24-h recalls. ResultsStudy participants had, on average, 5.3±1.2 eating episodes per day, consumed at 8:20±1.3 and 21:14±1.3 hours their first and their last eating episode respectively while their eating time window was 12.9±1.6 hours. Eating frequency, but not eating time window, was positively associated with global cognition, executive and language performance even after controlling for age, sex, education, BMI and Mediterranean diet. Increasing eating frequency by 1 eating episode per day was associated with 0.169 higher global z-score. Furthermore, compared to ≤4, having 5-6 or >6 eating episodes per day was associated with better global and memory z-scores. Time of last eating episode was also positively associated with language performance. No associations were detected between eating frequency, timing and window and AD pathology. ConclusionsAn eating pattern characterized by less frequent eating and/or by earlier times is present in individuals with worse cognitive performance. Our results shed light on the relevance of temporal eating patterns as potential early markers of behavioral or metabolic changes related to AD pathology.