Ultra-processed food intake and brain health in middle-aged and older adults

Abstract

Objective

The escalating burden of neurodegenerative diseases underscores the urgent need to identify modifiable dietary risks. Given the increasing prevalence of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) in modern diets and their links to various chronic diseases, this study investigates their associations with neurodegeneration and alterations in brain structure.

Design

A prospective cohort study.

Setting and participants

58,423 participants aged 40–70 years from the UK Biobank cohort (enrolled from 2006 to 2010) were included to examine the associations between UPF intake and neurodegenerative diseases, with a subsample of 5,462 participants with neuroimaging data used to investigate associations with regional gray matter morphology, including volume, thickness, and surface area.

Measurements

UPF intake was quantified as the weight-based proportion of ultra-processed foods, calculated by dividing the total daily weight (g/day) of UPFs by the total weight of all food consumed, based on the Oxford WebQ dietary questionnaire. Cox proportional hazards models, fully adjusted for potential confounders, were employed to assess the associations between UPF intake and neurodegenerative diseases. Polygenic risk scores derived from genome-wide summary statistics to reflect genetic predisposition to neurodegenerative diseases, were used to perform subgroup analyses. Multiple linear regression models were used to examine the associations between UPF intake and brain gray matter phenotypes.

Results

Our results indicated that high UPF intake was associated with increased risks of incident dementia (hazard ratio [95% confidence interval] = 1.37 [1.08, 1.74]), Parkinson’s disease (1.76 [1.22, 2.53]), and multiple sclerosis (2.38 [1.02, 5.55]), with stronger associations observed in participants with lower polygenic risk score. Moreover, high UPF intake corresponded to extensive gray matter compromise, including reduced subcortical volumes with right-hemispheric predominance, and widespread cortical deterioration in volume, thickness, and surface area.

Conclusions

These findings advance epidemiological evidence on the relationship between UPF intake and neurodegenerative outcomes, suggesting that dietary assessment may serve as a relevant consideration in population-level approaches to brain health promotion.