Sugar restriction in first 1,000 days from conception linked to lower risk for dementia
Sugar restriction in the first 1,000 days from conception is associated with a lower risk of dementia, according to a study published online July 29 in Neurology.
A recent study published in Neurology suggests that sugar restriction during the first 1,000 days from conception may lower the risk of dementia later in life. Researchers from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology analyzed data from 64,737 UK Biobank participants born during the end of UK sugar rationing in 1953. Of these, 40,963 were exposed to sugar rationing during fetal and/or early childhood, while 23,774 were not exposed.
The findings indicate that exposure to sugar rationing during pregnancy and the first year of life was associated with a lower risk of all-cause dementia and Alzheimer's disease (AD) compared to those with no exposure. The hazard ratios for all-cause dementia and AD were 0.79 and 0.77, respectively. For exposure in utero plus 1-2 years, the hazard ratios were even more significant (0.77 and 0.72, respectively).
Furthermore, early-life sugar rationing was linked to a delayed onset of all-cause dementia, AD, and vascular dementia (VaD) by an average of 2.55, 2.87, and 2.49 years, respectively. Additionally, those exposed to early-life sugar rationing had greater gray matter volume, lower white matter hyperintensity volume, and better performance in processing speed and reasoning.
The researchers also discovered that diabetes and hypertension mediated 25.5% of the association between early-life sugar rationing and reduced dementia risk. Overall, these results highlight the potential significance of early-life nutrition in reducing the risk of dementia decades later.
Written by urgent.news from Medical Xpress's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
