Processed red meat intake linked to 14% higher risk for dementia

Key takeaways:

• Consuming roughly two servings of processed red meat raised dementia risk by 14%.
• Replacing red meat with every day lower risk dementia by 20%.

PHILADELPHIA — Individuals who consumed about two weekly servings of processed red meat had a 14% higher risk for dementia, as well as accelerated cognitive aging, vs. those who ate less than three servings a month, according to research.

“Study results have been mixed on whether there is a relationship between cognitive decline and meat consumption in general, so we took a closer look at how eating different amounts of both processed and unprocessed meat affects cognitive risk and function,” Yuhan Li, MHS, lead study author and research assistant in the Channing Division of Network Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, said in a related press release.

In a prospective study spanning more than four decades, Li and colleagues assessed the diet of over 131,000 individuals in the Nurses’ Health Study (NHS) and Health Professionals Follow-Up Study via food-frequency questionnaires, which were administered every 2 to 4 years and asked about processed red meat consumption as well as intake of nuts and legumes. All participants were free from Parkinson’s disease or baseline dementia, stroke and cancer.

The researchers also assessed cognitive function among a subset of 17,458 NHS participants via the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status.

During follow up, Li and colleagues identified 11,173 dementia cases, based on self-reporting and death records. They also determined that participants who consumed at least one-quarter of a serving of processed red meat per day had a 14% higher risk for dementia compared with those who consumed less than a tenth of a serving.

In addition, results of the subset analysis showed that each extra daily serving of processed red meat was linked to an additional 1.61 years of cognitive aging for global cognition and an additional 1.69 years of cognitive aging for verbal memory.

Similarly, consuming at least one serving per day of unprocessed red meat was linked to a 16% greater likelihood of subjective cognitive decline vs. consuming less than half a serving.

The researchers reported, however, that replacing one daily serving of processed red meat with one of nuts and legumes was associated with a 20% lower risk for dementia, along with 1.37 fewer years of cognitive aging in global cognition. This diet substitution also was linked to 20% lower odds of subjective cognitive decline.

“By studying people over a long period of time, we found that eating processed red meat could be a significant risk factor for dementia,” Li said in the release. “Dietary guidelines could include recommendations limiting it to promote brain health.”

Reference:

• Processed red meat raises the risk of dementia; swapping it for nuts and beans may lower risk. https://aaic.alz.org/releases-2024/processed-red-meat-raises-risk-of-dementia.asp. Published July 31, 2024. Accessed July 31, 2024.