Scholarlink

<p>Early-life nutrition is linked to adult brain health, yet evidence from quasi-experimental studies remains scarce. Leveraging the UK’s historical sugar rationing as a natural experiment, we examined whether early-life sugar restriction reduces the risk of neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders in later life. Among 60,394 UK Biobank participants (born 1951–1956), three groups were defined: in-utero-only, in utero plus 2 years, and non-rationed controls. Compared with non-rationed individuals, those exposed to sugar restriction during the first 1000 days after conception, showed significantly lower risks of all-cause dementia (by 27%), Alzheimer’s disease (46%), depression (11%), and anxiety (20%). Dose-response analyses revealed stronger protective associations against depression and anxiety when postnatal sugar restriction extended beyond 6 months of age. Sex-stratified analyses showed consistent protective effects in women for Alzheimer’s disease, depression, and anxiety. Neuroimaging revealed decelerated brain aging, reflected by a 0.39-year reduction in the brain age gap, alongside structural changes in reduced gray–white matter contrast and larger subcortical volumes, including the hippocampus and thalamus. Minimal associations were observed for in‑utero‑only exposure. These quasi-experimental findings suggest that early-life sugar restriction is associated with attenuated neurobiological aging and lower risks of dementia and psychiatric disorders, highlighting sugar intake as a potential modifiable factor of lifelong brain health.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Early-life sugar rationing, brain aging, and long-term neurodegenerative and psychiatric health outcomes: a population-based natural experiment study

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月22日

查看全文
  • Xingji Lian,
  • Amei Chen,
  • Xiaoyan Zhu,
  • Yuyu Huang,
  • Chongzhe Yang,
  • Yan Huang,
  • Meilong Ran,
  • Longyan Yin,
  • Bing Zhang

摘要

Early-life nutrition is linked to adult brain health, yet evidence from quasi-experimental studies remains scarce. Leveraging the UK’s historical sugar rationing as a natural experiment, we examined whether early-life sugar restriction reduces the risk of neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders in later life. Among 60,394 UK Biobank participants (born 1951–1956), three groups were defined: in-utero-only, in utero plus 2 years, and non-rationed controls. Compared with non-rationed individuals, those exposed to sugar restriction during the first 1000 days after conception, showed significantly lower risks of all-cause dementia (by 27%), Alzheimer’s disease (46%), depression (11%), and anxiety (20%). Dose-response analyses revealed stronger protective associations against depression and anxiety when postnatal sugar restriction extended beyond 6 months of age. Sex-stratified analyses showed consistent protective effects in women for Alzheimer’s disease, depression, and anxiety. Neuroimaging revealed decelerated brain aging, reflected by a 0.39-year reduction in the brain age gap, alongside structural changes in reduced gray–white matter contrast and larger subcortical volumes, including the hippocampus and thalamus. Minimal associations were observed for in‑utero‑only exposure. These quasi-experimental findings suggest that early-life sugar restriction is associated with attenuated neurobiological aging and lower risks of dementia and psychiatric disorders, highlighting sugar intake as a potential modifiable factor of lifelong brain health.