Nutrition Journal · 4 authors, 3 centres
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In 186,622 UK Biobank participants followed for a mean of 10.6 years, free sugars in beverages were associated with increased dementia risk in an ascending linear fashion, while overall free sugar intake showed a J-shaped association with a nadir at 9% of total energy.
This prospective cohort study used data from 186,622 UK Biobank participants with at least one Oxford WebQ dietary assessment. Cox proportional hazard regression models with penalized cubic splines were used to assess associations of sugar intake from various sources with dementia risk, allowing for non-linear predictor effects. Overall free sugar intake was associated with dementia risk in a J-shaped fashion, with the hazard ratio nadir at 9% of total energy. Free sugars in beverages were associated with dementia risk in an ascending approximately linear way, whereas no significant association was found for free sugars in solids. Among beverage subtypes, free sugars in soda/fruit drinks and milk-based drinks were significantly and positively associated with dementia risk, while no association was found for tea/coffee. Limitations include residual confounding, measurement errors in self-reported dietary data, possible reverse causality (though landmark analyses excluding cases within two years showed virtually unchanged results), and healthy volunteer selection bias.
