Food insecurity among adults over 50 creates increased risk of dementia, poorer memory, and faster memory decline, a study has found.
Researchers analysed the data of more than 7000 individuals from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and the 2013 Health Care and Nutrition Study (HCNS) to measure the link between food insecurity and cognitive function.
Adults experiencing food insecurity were 1.38 times more likely to have dementia, compared to ‘food secure’ individuals. At age 70, ‘food insecure’ individuals had worse memory levels than those with food security.
Individuals more likely to experience low food security were less educated, female, non-Hispanic Black or Hispanic, and renters.
‘Our findings highlight the need to improve food security in older adults and that doing so may protect individuals from cognitive decline and dementia,’ the researchers wrote.
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