Weinstein Galit, Kojis Daniel, Banerjee Ayantika, Seshadri Sudha, Walker Maura, Beiser Alexa S
School of Public Health, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.
Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA; The Framingham Study, Framingham, MA, USA.
J Prev Alzheimers Dis. 2025 Feb;12(2):100042. doi: 10.1016/j.tjpad.2024.100042. Epub 2025 Jan 1.
Ultra-processed food consumption is emerging as a risk factor for various cardiometabolic diseases, however its association with dementia and Alzheimer's disease has rarely been explored.
We sought to examine whether ultra-processed food consumption is associated with risk of all-cause dementia and Alzheimer's disease among middle-age and older adults.
A prospective cohort study.
The Framingham Heart Study, a single-site, community-based cohort study.
Offspring cohort participants who attended examination cycles 5 (1991-1995) and 7 (1998-2001) at age ≥60 years and who were dementia-free at baseline.
Nutritional information was retrieved from food frequency questionnaires, and ultra-processed food was categorized based on the NOVA system. Participants were followed-up for all-cause dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Cox regression models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) adjusting for potential confounders.
The study sample included 1,375 participants free of dementia and stroke at baseline (mean age 68 ± 6y, 54 % females). During a mean follow-up of 12.7 ± 6.0 years, 224 and 172 individuals were diagnosed with all-cause dementia and Alzheimer's disease, respectively. An interaction of ultra-processed food consumption with age was observed with regard to dementia and Alzheimer's disease (p for interaction = 0.02 and 0.007, respectively). Therefore, all analyses were stratified by the median age of 68 years. Among participants who were <68 years of age at baseline, each serving per day of ultra-processed food was associated with 13 % increased risk for Alzheimer's disease (HR = 1.13, 95 % CI:1.03-1.25), and consumption of ≥10 servings/day vs. <10 servings/day of ultra-processed food was associated with a 2.7-fold increase in Alzheimer's disease risk (HR = 2.71, 95 % CI:1.18-6.24), after adjustment for age, sex, education, total energy, metabolic factors and diet quality. The associations with all-cause dementia were less robust, and no significant findings were observed when age at baseline was 68 years or above.
Our findings suggest that consumption of ultra-processed food in middle-age may be linked with an increased risk for Alzheimer's disease. Future clinical studies are warranted to assess whether reduction of ultra-processed food consumption improves brain health.
超加工食品的消费正成为各种心血管代谢疾病的一个风险因素，然而其与痴呆症和阿尔茨海默病的关联很少被探讨。
我们试图研究超加工食品的消费是否与中老年人群全因性痴呆症和阿尔茨海默病的风险相关。
一项前瞻性队列研究。
弗雷明汉心脏研究，一项单中心、基于社区的队列研究。
年龄≥60岁且在基线时无痴呆症的子代队列参与者，他们参加了第5轮（1991 - 1995年）和第7轮（1998 - 2001年）检查。
从食物频率问卷中获取营养信息，并根据NOVA系统对超加工食品进行分类。对参与者进行全因性痴呆症和阿尔茨海默病的随访。使用Cox回归模型估计风险比（HRs）和95%置信区间（CIs），并对潜在混杂因素进行调整。
研究样本包括1375名基线时无痴呆症和中风的参与者（平均年龄68±6岁，54%为女性）。在平均12.7±6.0年的随访期间，分别有224人和172人被诊断患有全因性痴呆症和阿尔茨海默病。在痴呆症和阿尔茨海默病方面观察到超加工食品消费与年龄之间存在交互作用（交互作用的p值分别为0.02和0.007）。因此，所有分析均按68岁的年龄中位数进行分层。在基线年龄<68岁的参与者中，每天每多摄入一份超加工食品，患阿尔茨海默病的风险增加13%（HR = 1.13，95%CI：1.03 - 1.25），在调整年龄、性别、教育程度、总能量、代谢因素和饮食质量后，每天摄入≥10份超加工食品与每天摄入<10份相比，患阿尔茨海默病的风险增加2.7倍（HR = 2.71，95%CI：1.18 - 6.24）。与全因性痴呆症的关联不太显著，在基线年龄为68岁及以上时未观察到显著结果。
我们的研究结果表明，中年时期超加工食品的消费可能与患阿尔茨海默病的风险增加有关。未来有必要进行临床研究，以评估减少超加工食品的消费是否能改善大脑健康。
