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Home cooking, cooking skills and dementia requiring long-term care: A population-based cohort study in Japan
This research article explores the correlation between home cooking frequency and the incidence of dementia, utilizing data from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study, a longitudinal cohort study involving 10,978 participants over a six-year period. The study found that higher home cooking frequency is associated with a reduced risk of dementia, as determined through administrative long-term care records. The analysis employed propensity score matching to pair participants based on demographic, socioeconomic, and health-related factors, enabling a robust examination of the data.
During the follow-up, 1,195 cases of dementia were recorded. The results indicated a subdistribution hazard ratio (SHR) for high cooking frequency (defined as cooking at least once a week) of 0.77 (95% CI 0.61 to 0.98) for men and 0.73 (95% CI 0.54 to 0.98) for women, suggesting a significant protective effect of frequent home cooking against dementia.
Moreover, the benefits of cooking frequency were particularly pronounced among individuals with low cooking skills, where the SHR was 0.33 (95% CI 0.13 to 0.84). These findings underscore the importance of fostering an environment conducive to cooking among older adults as a potential strategy for dementia prevention. [NPID: cooking, dementia, older adults]
Year: 2026
