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Association of ultraprocessed food consumption with risk of dementia: A prospective cohort
Ultra-processed foods (UPF) were found to play a role in the pathogenesis of several illnesses, both physical and mental, however, their involvement in the pathogenesis of dementia remains unknown. In this prospective cohort study by Li H. et al. (2022), the authors used data from 72083 adult participants of the UK biobank study (aged 55 years and above, dementia-free baseline) to investigate the impact of UPF on dementia. Participants submitted a minimum of two 24-hour dietary assessments compliant with NOVA food classification, while dementia from all causes (vascular, Alzheimer’s, etc.) was noted through reviewing medical records. Analysis of the data across a follow-up duration of 10 years revealed a substantial relationship between the likelihood of developing dementia and the increased consumption of UPF (where 287 participants suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, and 119 suffered from vascular dementia). Furthermore, the authors discovered that decreasing UPF consumption by 10% dietary weight resulted in a 19% decrease in the risk of suffering from dementia. The authors conclude that increasing UPF consumption leads to a higher likelihood of suffering from dementia while replacing UPF consumption with unprocessed or minimally processed food helps decrease the odds of suffering from dementia. [NPID: Diet, ultra processed foods, mental health, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia]
Year: 2022
