Neurology: Limiting Sugar Intake During the First 1,000 Days of Life Linked to Lower Risk of Dementia

Limiting sugar intake during the first 1,000 days of life—from conception to around age two—may be associated with a lower risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease later in life, according to a study published in the journal Neurology.

Scientists analyzed data from 64,737 participants in the UK Biobank who were born around the time sugar rationing was lifted in the United Kingdom in September 1953. Of them, 40,963 people were exposed to limited access to sugar during pregnancy and early childhood, while 23,774 were not subject to such restrictions.

People who experienced sugar rationing before birth and during their first year of life had an approximately 21% lower risk of developing dementia of any type and a 23% lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease compared with those who were not exposed to rationing.

The association was even stronger among people who lived under restricted sugar consumption until the age of two. Their risk of dementia was approximately 23% lower, while their risk of Alzheimer’s disease was 28% lower.

The researchers also found that people exposed to sugar restrictions early in life had a greater volume of gray matter in the brain and fewer white-matter changes associated with vascular damage. They also performed better on tests of processing speed and logical reasoning.

According to the researchers’ estimates, about one-quarter of the observed association may be explained by the fact that limited sugar intake in early life was subsequently associated with a lower likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes and hypertension, two known risk factors for dementia.

The authors emphasize that the study does not prove that reducing sugar intake during infancy prevents dementia. Participants were assessed decades after the period of sugar rationing, meaning that other factors could also have influenced their long-term health.

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