Key takeaways:
- Elevated consumption of unprocessed meals boosted odds of nonmotor prodromal Parkinson’s signs.
- Higher odds of prodromal PD options had been linked to animal-based, processed and artificially sweetened meals.
Greater consumption of ultraprocessed meals was linked to increased odds of nonmotor prodromal signs related to Parkinson’s illness, together with sleep disturbance, ache and melancholy, in accordance with information revealed in Neurology.
“Consuming a nutritious diet is essential because it has been related to a decrease danger of neurodegenerative illnesses and the dietary decisions we make right now can considerably affect our mind well being sooner or later,” Xiang Gao, MD, PhD, from the Institute of Diet, Fudan College in Shanghai, China, stated in a launch associated to the examine. “There’s rising proof that food plan would possibly affect the event of Parkinson’s illness.”
Based on new analysis from China, elevated consumption of ultraprocessed meals was related to elevated danger of experiencing prodromal signs of Parkinson’s illness. Picture: Adobe Inventory
Consumption of ultraprocessed meals (UPFs) similar to scorching canines, soda and breakfast cereals has been related to a better danger of varied power illnesses, however associations with prodromal PD are but undetermined, Gao and colleagues wrote.
They sought to look at correlations between long-term UPF consumption and nonmotor signs which will presage the prodromal part of PD. Their longitudinal examine culled information and eligible people from a pair of cohort research carried out in america: the Nurses Well being Research, which included feminine registered nurses aged 30 to 55 years at baseline; and the Well being Professionals Comply with Up Research, which featured 51,529 male well being care professionals aged 40 to 75 years at baseline. UPF consumption was analyzed through meals frequency questionnaires submitted between 1984 and 2006.
A complete of 83,900 members from each teams subsequently answered questions associated to possible REM sleep conduct dysfunction (pRBD) and constipation in 2012. All enrollees who reported each situations — together with a random subset of those that had
neither — submitted to olfactory exams and answered additional questionnaires concerning nonmotor-related PD options between 2014 and 2015.
The examine’s main final result was the mix of all seven prodromal options and additional categorized as zero (reference), one, two, and three options, whereas secondary outcomes included all options besides constipation, a mixture of three generally acknowledged options (constipation, pRBD and hyposmia), together with individualized options.
The ultimate evaluation included 42,853 members (imply age, 47.8 years; 58.6% ladies).
Outcomes confirmed that increased UPF consumption was linked to elevated odds of particular person prodromal options, together with pRBD, constipation, physique ache and melancholy.
The multivariable-adjusted odds ratio for having three vs. zero prodromal options was 2.47 (95% CI: 1.89–3.23) for cumulative common consumption, in contrast with 1.5 (95% CI: 1.18–1.89) for baseline consumption.
Comparable outcomes had been noticed for mixtures of all options besides constipation (OR =
2; 95% CI: 1.29–3.11) and mixtures of three options (OR = 2.47; 95% CI:
1.41–4.34).
Information moreover revealed increased consumption of sauces, spreads, condiments; packaged candy snacks or desserts; artificially or sugar-sweetened drinks; animal-based merchandise; yogurt or dairy-based desserts and packaged savory snacks was related to larger odds of prodromal PD options.
“Selecting to eat fewer processed meals and extra complete, nutritious meals might be an excellent technique for sustaining mind well being,” Gao stated within the launch. “Extra research are wanted to verify our discovering that consuming much less processed meals could decelerate the earliest indicators of Parkinson’s illness.”
In a associated editorial, Maria I. Maraki, PhD, an assistant professor of vitamin, train efficiency and well being on the Nationwide and Kapodistrian College of Athens, and Nikolaos Scarmeas. MD, MS, an affiliate professor of neurology at Columbia College, wrote that future analysis ought to heart on associations of UPFs with PD itself reasonably than simply analyzing the prodrome.
“These findings reinforce normal well being dietary tips emphasizing minimal UPF consumption,” they wrote. “They spotlight a possible function of vitamin in influencing the prodromal part of PD.”
Reference:
Consuming extremely processed meals could velocity up early indicators of Parkinson’s illness. https://www.aan.com/PressRoom/Dwelling/PressRelease/5257. Printed Could 7, 2025. Accessed Could 15, 2025.
Maraki MI, et al. Neurology. 2025;doi:10.1212/WNL.0000000000213684.
For extra data:
Xiang Gao, MD, PhD, will be reached at neurology@healio.com.
