High meat intake may reduce dementia risk for older people with genetic predisposition to Alzheimer's, per a Karolinska Institutet study. The study tracked over 2,100 individuals aged 60 and older for up to 15 years. Findings apply to carriers of specific apoe gene variants.
A new study from Karolinska Institutet, published in JAMA Network Open, examined the link between meat consumption and cognitive health in older adults. It followed more than 2,100 people, all aged 60 or older, for up to 15 years. Participants carried the apoe gene, with about 70 percent of Alzheimer's patients having the combinations apoe 3/4 or apoe 4/4, indicating genetic risk. The quintile eating the most meat showed no elevated risk for cognitive decline or dementia. Their median consumption was estimated at around 870 grams of meat per week. “Those who ate more meat overall had significantly better cognitive development and lower dementia risk, but only if they had the gene variants apoe 3/4 or 4/4,” said Jakob Norgren, the study's first author and a researcher at KI, in a statement. The research highlights how diet might influence dementia risk in those with genetic vulnerability, though findings are specific to these gene carriers.
