About 3X more likely to get dementia if ate a lot of meat - May 2025
The Role of Total Meat Intake in Predicting Dementia Incidence: Insights from a Global Population-Based Study
Preprint
Adelaide Medical School, the University of Adelaide, Frome Road, Adelaide, South Australia 5005,
Australia; wenpeng.you at adelaide.edu.au
Dementia cases are projected to triple globally by 2050, largely driven by an aging population. While aging remains the primary risk factor, emerging evidence suggests that diet, including total meat intake, may influence dementia risk. This study investigates the relationship between total meat consumption (red and white meat) and dementia incidence using data from 204 countries.
Bivariate correlations revealed a significant positive association between total meat intake and dementia incidence globally (r = 0.588, p < 0.001), with a stronger effect observed in low- and middle-income countries (z = 3.92, p < 0.001).
Partial correlation analyses and multiple regression models, controlling for aging, economic status, genetic predisposition, and urbanization, confirmed that meat intake remained a significant predictor of dementia (Beta = 0.202, p < 0.001).
Aging showed the strongest influence (Beta = 0.788, p < 0.001), underscoring its dominant role. Regional analyses suggested socio-economic disparities, dietary habits, and limited access to diverse nutrition as factors amplifying the association in developing regions. These findings identify total meat intake as a modifiable dietary factor contributing to dementia risk, particularly in resource-constrained settings. Implementing tailored dietary interventions may help reduce dementia incidence globally, especially in vulnerable populations.
PDF preprint
Reduced risk of dementia if replace red meat - Jan 2025
Prospective Study of Long-Term Red Meat Intake, Risk of Dementia, and Cognitive Function in US Adults
Alzheimer's and Dementia January 2025 https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.088556
Yuhan Li, Yanping Li, Xiao Gu, Yuxi Liu, Danyue Dong, Jae H. Kang, Molin Wang, Heather Eliassen, Walter C. Willett, Meir J. Stampfer, Dong D. Wang
Background
Previous studies yielded inconsistent results regarding the association between red meat intake and cognitive health. We aimed to prospectively examine the associations between processed and unprocessed red meat intakes and various cognitive outcomes.
Method
We assessed diet intake every 2-4 years using food-frequency questionnaires and ascertained incident dementia cases through self-report and death records in 87,424 participants free from Parkinson’s disease or baseline dementia, stroke, cancer from the Nurses' Health Study (NHS). In a subset of 17,458 NHS participants, cognitive function was assessed using the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (1995-2008). We longitudinally collected information on subjective cognitive decline from 33,908 NHS participants and 10,058 participants in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study.
Result
During a follow-up of 38 years (1980-2018) in the NHS, we documented 6,856 dementia cases. Participants with processed red meat intake ≥ 0.25 serving/day, as compared to < 0.10 serving/day, had 15% higher risk of dementia (HR = 1.15; 95% CI: 1.08-1.23; P linearity <0.001).
We found significant associations between higher processed red meat intake and accelerated aging in
- global cognition [1.61 years per 1 serving/day increment (95% CI: 0.20, 3.03)] and
- verbal memory [1.69 years per 1 serving/day increment (95% CI: 0.13, 3.25), both P linearity = 0.03].
Participants with processed red meat intake ≥ 0.25 serving/day had a 14% higher likelihood of subjective cognitive decline compared to those with intake < 0.10 serving/day (OR = 1.14; 95% CI: 1.04–1.24; P linearity = 0.004), while unprocessed red meat intake of ≥ 1.00 serving/day compared to < 0.50 serving/day was associated with a 16% higher likelihood of subjective cognitive decline (OR = 1.16; 95% CI: 1.04–1.30; P linearity = 0.02).
In substitution analyses, replacing 1 serving/day of processed red meat with 1 serving/day of nuts and legumes was associated with a
- 23% lower risk of dementia (HR = 0.77, 95% CI: 0.69–0.86),
- 1.37 fewer years of cognitive aging (95% CI: -2.49—0.25), and a
- 20% lower odds of subjective cognitive decline (OR = 0.80, 95% CI: 0.69–0.92).
Conclusion
Higher intake of red meat, particularly processed red meat, is associated with a higher risk of developing dementia and worse cognition.
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Long-Term Intake of Red Meat in Relation to Dementia Risk and Cognitive Function in US Adults
February 11, 2025 issue https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000210286 PDF behind paywall
Yuhan Li, Yanping Li https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0412-2748, Xiao Gu, Yuxi Liu, Danyue Dong, Jae Hee Kang https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4812-0557, Molin Wang, Heather Eliassen, Walter C. Willett https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1458-7597, Meir J. Stampfer https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8865-935X, and Dong Wang https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0897-3048
Large US study links processed red meat to dementia risk - Jan 2025
BMJ 2025; 388 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.r126 PDF behind paywall
The longest running study to date of the effects of diet on cognition appears to support widespread suspicions that processed red meats, such as bacon, hot dogs, sausages and salami, are associated with an elevated risk of developing dementia.
Published in Neurology, the journal of the American Academy of Neurology, the study tracked 133 771 US health professionals for an average 40 years, during which time 11 173 cases of dementia were recorded.1
Researchers used regular questionnaires to record the eating habits of participants and divided them into three categories based on their consumption of processed red meat. The low group ate on average fewer than 0.1 servings a day, the medium group consumed 0.1 to 0.24 servings a day, and the high group averaged over 0.25 servings a day.
In repeated tests administered by telephone, the high consumption group’s global cognition …