Neurology: trans fatty acids increase the risk of dementia

February 12, 2020 / BIOON / - a trans fat rich diet may increase the risk of dementia, according to a new study Most trans fats are banned in the United States However, foods with less than half a gram of trans fat can be labeled as non trans fat, so some foods still contain trans fat Photo source: https://cn.bing.com the new study includes more than 1600 Japanese without dementia Their average age was 70 years old and they were followed up for an average of 10 years During this period, 377 people developed dementia Of the 407 participants with the highest levels of trans fat in their blood, 104 developed dementia, or 29.8 per 1000 people a year Among the people with the second highest trans fat content, the proportion was 27.6 Among the people with the lowest content of trans fat in the blood, the proportion was 21.3 After adjusting for other dementia risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes and smoking, the researchers concluded that participants with the highest levels of trans fat had a 52% higher risk of dementia than those with the lowest levels According to a study published online in the journal Neurology, foods with the highest trans fat content in the blood include sweet cakes, margarine, candy and caramel, croissants, non dairy creams, ice cream and rice cakes Toshiharu Ninomiya, a professor of epidemiology and public health at Kyushu University in Japan and the first author of the study, said: "these results give us more reason to avoid trans fats In the United States, if people eat these foods many times, the small amount of trans fat that is still allowed in the food will increase greatly, while in many other countries, trans fat is still allowed "Ninomiya pointed out in a journal press release that the World Health Organization has called for the elimination of trans fats worldwide by 2023 "These public health measures have the potential not only to help prevent dementia around the world, but also to reduce heart disease and other trans fat related diseases," Ninomiya said "Reference: Toshiharu Ninomiya et al Serum elaidic acid concentration and risk of demantia the Hisayama study Neurology 2019 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0000000000008464