Researchers found that older adults carrying high-risk APOE gene variants didn’t show the expected cognitive decline if they meat. In fact, those with these genes who consumed the most meat had slower cognitive decline and lower dementia risk, challenging conventional dietary advice. The research published in JAMA Network Open suggest that dietary advice could eventually be tailored more precisely based on a person’s genetic profile.
The APOE gene plays a major role in determining Alzheimer’s risk. In Sweden, about 30 percent of people carry the APOE 3/4 or APOE 4/4 gene combinations. Among individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, nearly 70 percent have one of these variants. Last year, the Swedish Food Agency reviewed existing research on diet and dementia and called for more studies to better understand how meat consumption might influence dementia risk.
The research followed more than 2,100 adults participating in the Swedish National Study on Aging and Care, Kungsholmen (SNAC-K). All participants were at least 60 years old and free of dementia at the beginning of the study. They were tracked for up to 15 years.
Among participants who consumed lower amounts of meat, those with APOE 3/4 and 4/4 had more than twice the risk of developing dementia compared to individuals without these gene variants. However, this elevated risk was not observed in the group that consumed the most meat. In this highest-intake group, median consumption was about 870 grams of meat per weeks. “Those who ate more meat overall had significantly slower cognitive decline and a lower risk of dementia, but only if they had the APOE 3/4 or 4/4 gene variants,” says lead researcher Jakob Norgren.
“There is a lack of dietary research into brain health, and our findings suggest that conventional dietary advice may be unfavourable to a genetically defined subgroup of the population. For those who are aware that they belong to this genetic risk group, the findings offer hope; the risk may be modifiable through lifestyle changes.”
The type of meat also appeared to make a difference. “A lower proportion of processed meat in total meat consumption was associated with a lower risk of dementia regardless of APOE genotype,” says Assistant Professor Sara Garcia-Ptacek.
