Limiting sugar consumption during pregnancy and the first two years of life was linked to a lower risk of developing dementia later in life, according to a study published in the journal Neurology. Lower sugar consumption early in life was also associated with a delayed onset of dementia.
For the study, researchers analysed data from 64,737 people born before and after the end of sugar rationing in the UK. Sugar rationing began in 1940 and ended in 1953, when sugar became widely available.
Participants were grouped based on their exposure to sugar rationing: those exposed before birth and during the first year of life, those exposed before birth and through age two, and those not exposed to sugar rationing.
After adjusting for health factors such as high blood pressure and diabetes, researchers found that people exposed to sugar rationing before birth and through their first year of life had a 21 per cent lower risk of dementia and those exposed to sugar rationing through age two had a 23 per cent lower risk of dementia compared to people born after sugar rationing ended.
Among people exposed to lower sugar levels early in life, the onset of dementia was delayed by an average of 2.6 years.
A smaller group of participants underwent brain scans and cognitive testing. Those exposed to lower sugar levels early in life had greater grey matter volume, fewer white matter hyper-intensities, and better processing speed and reasoning.
“These results highlight the potential importance of early-life nutrition in reducing the risk of dementia decades later,” the study author said.
