Eating 'red processed meats' such as sausages and bacon is linked to an increased risk of dementia
Red meat and its processed products have been known to have adverse health effects, with
Long-Term Intake of Red Meat in Relation to Dementia Risk and Cognitive Function in US Adults | Neurology
https://www.neurology.org/doi/10.1212/WNL.0000000000210286
Red Meat Consumption Increases Risk of Dementia and Cognitive Decline | Mass General Brigham
https://www.massgeneralbrigham.org/en/about/newsroom/press-releases/red-meat-increases-risk-of-dementia
Processed Red Meat Linked With Up to 13% Higher Dementia Risk : ScienceAlert
https://www.sciencealert.com/decades-long-study-links-red-meat-to-up-to-13-higher-dementia-risk
A research team from the Harvard School of Public Health and the University of Massachusetts analyzed data from the Nurses' Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study to study the association between red meat intake and dementia.
'Dietary guidelines tend to focus on reducing the risk of chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes, but cognitive health is not often discussed, despite its association with these diseases,' said study co-author Daniel Wang, M.D., of Brigham and Women's Hospital.
The 133,771 subjects included in the study data had an average age of 49 years at the start of the study, and 11,173 were diagnosed with dementia during the maximum 43-year follow-up period. The survey also assessed the subjects' cognitive function based on a dementia diagnosis, objective cognitive status measurements based on interviews, and subjective self-reports of cognitive function.
The analysis found that people who ate 21 grams or more of processed red meat per day had a 13 percent higher risk of developing dementia compared with those who ate less than 8 grams per day, even after taking into account a number of clinical, demographic and lifestyle factors, including socioeconomic status and family history of dementia.
Additionally, the higher the intake of processed red meat, the faster the overall decline in cognitive function. For every 85g of processed red meat consumed per day (equivalent to one hot dog), the decline in cognitive function is accelerated by approximately 1.6 years.
The graph below shows how much the risk of 'Dementia', 'Cognitive aging measured by global cognition', and 'Subjective cognitive decline' is reduced by replacing red meat with another food. It can be seen that the risk is significantly reduced whether it is replaced with 'Poultry', 'Fish', 'Eggs', 'Low-fat dairy', or 'Nuts and legumes'.
'A high intake of red meat, especially processed red meat, is associated with an increased risk of developing dementia and poorer cognitive function,' the research team wrote in their paper. 'Reducing red meat consumption could be included in dietary guidelines to promote cognitive health.'
Possible mechanisms by which red meat may affect the risk of dementia include the possibility that red meat affects the intestinal flora, and that saturated fatty acids and salt may impair the health of brain cells.
It should be noted that this study only examined the relationship between red meat intake and cognitive function, and did not demonstrate a direct causal relationship. The research team stated that they would like to further investigate the relationship between red meat and dementia in the future.
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