ePrints

Nutrition and the prevalence of dementia in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan: An ecological study

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Yu-Tzu WuORCiD, Professor Matthew Prina, Professor Carol Brayne

Downloads

• Published version [.pdf]

Licence

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

Abstract

© 2015 - IOS Press and the authors. All rights reserved.Objective: To investigate the relationship of dietary supply and the prevalence of dementia in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan over time using existing data and taking diagnostic criteria into account. Methods: Estimated total energy supply and animal fat from the United Nations was linked to the 70 prevalence studies in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan from 1980 to 2012 according to the current, 10 years, and 20 years before starting year of investigation. Studies using newer and older diagnostic criteria were separated into two groups. Spearman's rank correlation was calculated to investigate whether trends in total energy, animal fat supply, and prevalence of dementia were monotonically related. Results: The supply of total energy and animal fat per capita per day in China increased considerably over the last 50 years. The original positive relationship of dietary supply and dementia prevalence disappeared after stratifying by newer and older diagnostic criteria and there was no clear time lag effect. Conclusion: Taking diagnostic criteria into account, there is no cross-sectional or time lag relationship between the dietary trends and changes in dementia prevalence. It may be too early to detect any such changes because current cohorts of older people did not experience these dietary changes in their early to mid-life.Background: Western diets are associated with obesity, vascular diseases, and metabolic syndrome and might increase dementia risk in later life. If these associations are causal, those low- and middle-income countries experiencing major changes in diet might also see an increasing prevalence of dementia.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Wu Y-T, Grant WB, Prina AM, Lee H-Y, Brayne C

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease

Year: 2015

Volume: 44

Issue: 4

Pages: 1099-1106

Online publication date: 19/02/2015

Acceptance date: 13/10/2014

Date deposited: 27/05/2020

ISSN (print): 1387-2877

ISSN (electronic): 1875-8908

Publisher: IOS Press

URL: https://doi.org/10.3233/JAD-141926

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-141926

PubMed id: 25380587

Altmetrics

Share