Photo Credit: Shironosov

Higher red meat intake, especially processed red meat, was associated with an increased risk for dementia and subjective cognitive decline (SCD), according to a study published in Neurology. The researchers analyzed participants without dementia at baseline from two nationwide cohort studies, using a validated, semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire to assess diets. The risks for dementia and SCD were higher for participants with processed red meat intake of at least 0.25 versus less than 0.1 serving per day (HR, 1.13; and RR, 1.14; respectively). Accelerated aging in global cognition and verbal memory was related to higher processed red meat intake (1.61 and 1.69 years per one serving per day increment, respectively). A higher risk for SCD was associated with unprocessed red meat intake of at least 1.00 versus less than 0.5 serving per day (RR, 1.16). Replacing processed red meat with one serving per day of nuts and legumes was associated with a lower risk for dementia (HR, 0.81), 1.37 fewer years of cognitive aging, and a lower risk for SCD (RR, 0.79).