Dementia: Is Processed Meat Another Risk Factor? By Richard Hoffman, University of Hertfordshire via Natural Blaze
The evidence of a link between processed meat and cancer is now strong enough for some organisations to recommend not eating any. There’s also increasing evidence of a link between processed meat and type 2 diabetes. And now, a new study has added to the list of woes for lovers of processed meat by linking it to an increased risk of dementia. But this latest association may not be quite so convincing.
The new study, from the University of Leeds, used data from the UK Biobank, which is a biomedical database containing detailed genetic and health information from nearly half a million people, aged 40 to 69. The researchers measured how frequently participants reported consuming processed and unprocessed meat, and then monitored cases of dementia over an eight-year period.
During this period, 2,896 participants developed dementia. The researchers calculated that eating 25g of processed meat per day – the equivalent of one rasher of bacon – was associated with a 44% increased risk of dementia. And for those who developed dementia, processed meat was associated with a 52% increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease – the main cause of dementia. By contrast, they found that consuming 50g a day of unprocessed red meat such as beef, pork, or veal was protective, and was associated with reducing the risk of dementia by 19% compared to people eating meat up to once a week.
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To find opposite health effects for processed meat and unprocessed meat is unusual, especially given that many studies show that both processed meat and red meat increase cancer risk. So what might be going on here?
Studies that examine an association between the consumption of a specific food and an increased risk of a disease are not proving that there is a causal link. Many factors are linked to an increased risk of dementia, and only a small selection of these can be evaluated in any one study. This makes it difficult to draw firm conclusions about what may be the cause for an observed effect.
The Leeds study used a broad definition of processed meats. It not only included ham, bacon and sausages, but also more highly processed meat products, such as meat pies, kebabs, burgers and chicken nuggets. It’s likely that people who consume these highly processed meat products will also have a taste for other highly processed foods, such as crisps or cakes, that are part of the typical Western diet.
