Heart disease and type two diabetes are commonly known complications linked with a diet high in sugar, but now recent studies have revealed yet another troubling impact: an association with quicker ageing processes. Oxford University scholars earlier this year had a breakthrough when they examined brain scans of 40,000 UK residents, aiming to spotlight what aggravates dementia.
Surprisingly, out of 161 recognisable factors, type 2 diabetes ranked as one of the highest risks, frequently prompted by sugar-rich food habits.
“What makes this study special is that we examined the unique contribution of each modifiable risk factor by looking at all of them together to assess the resulting degeneration of this particular brain ‘weak spot’,” commented Professor Anderson Winkler from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.
“It is with this kind of comprehensive, holistic approach − and once we had taken into account the effects of age and sex − that three emerged as the most harmful: diabetes, air pollution, and alcohol.”
Dementia represents a range of neurological conditions that impact cognitive abilities severely enough to interfere with daily life and independent function, reports Surrey Live.
Experts have pinpointed 161 dangerous factors that contribute to brain decline, but they’ve zeroed in on 15 major culprits which include high blood pressure, cholesterol levels, body weight, and diabetes. Excessive alcohol intake didn’t escape scrutiny as it’s listed as another significant threat alongside smoking and even bouts of depression.
Notably, environmental pollution and sleep deprivation are indicated too, with the latter connected to heightened levels of Alzheimer’s disease proteins. Professor Gwenaëlle Douaud, who headed the research, said: “We know that a constellation of brain regions degenerates earlier in aging, and in this new study we have shown that these specific parts of the brain are most vulnerable to diabetes, traffic-related air pollution − increasingly a major player in dementia − and alcohol, of all the common risk factors for dementia.”
Douaud further revealed startling connections between brain health and various genetic factors, stating, “We have found that several variations in the genome influence this brain network, and they are implicated in cardiovascular deaths, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, as well as with the two antigens of a little-known blood group, the elusive XG antigen system, which was an entirely new and unexpected finding.”
Despite the risks these elements pose in accelerating dementia, they are often seen as ‘modifiable’, suggesting that altering detrimental lifestyle choices is still worth doing.