alzhub.org
Get help now — free helplines

You can call any of these for free. You do not need a diagnosis, an appointment, or a crisis to call — questions and plain exhaustion are reasons enough.

  • Alzheimer's Association 24/7 Helpline 800-272-3900 24 hours a day, 365 days a year Free, confidential support and information for people with dementia, caregivers, families and the public. Master's-level clinicians. Also Spanish.
  • 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline 988 24/7 Call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org. For anyone in emotional distress or a mental-health crisis, including caregivers.
  • Alzheimer's Foundation of America (AFA) Helpline 866-232-8484 9:00 am - 9:00 pm ET, seven days a week Licensed social workers providing support, info and referrals. Also text message and web chat. Text: 646-586-5283

In a medical emergency, call 911. More numbers, and what each line does, on the help page.

Home › Research › What the research found › Every row

Every row of the evidence table

One row per finding: what was tested, which way the result went, and how the study was built. The answer by area, and where the studies disagree, are on the main page.

Every row

Filter

Area All 382 Care, carers and services 140 Medicines 85 Genes (not modifiable) 35 All modifiable factors together 27 Diet and supplements 23 Exercise and activity 21 Sleep, mood and social life 19 Hearing and vision 8 Alcohol, tobacco and cannabis 6 Infection and vaccination 5 Heart and metabolic health 4 Injury, delirium and falls 4 Environment 3 Cognitive activity 2
Question Both Prevention 190 Treatment 192
Direction Any Benefit 144 Harm 105 No effect 38 Mixed 37 No direction reported 58
Design Any meta-analysis 57 randomised trial 44 phase 3 trial 15 systematic review 9 phase 2 trial 10 cohort study 136 phase 1 trial 2 cross-sectional study 31 case-control study 14 modelling study 20 regulatory decision 7 company announcement 1 coverage determination 1 None 35
Clear all

Showing 4 of 382 rows for Ultra-processed food. One row per study per exposure: a study that tested two different things appears twice, once for each.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Research and outcomes, 4 rows. Every row links to its source.
Exposure Question Direction Outcome measured Design People Effect size, as the source reported it Source
Ultra-processed food Diet and supplements Prevention Harm
why

The dementia-only estimate barely cleared significance (HR 1.58, 95% CI 1.003-2.48) and its test for trend did not (P=0.50).

 Cognitive impairment or dementia cohort study 5,370 Cognitive impairment or dementia HR 1.47 (95% CI 1.16-1.87) for highest vs lowest quintile of ultra-processed food American Journal of Public Health 2026
✓ Peer-reviewed PMID 42233196
Ultra-processed food Diet and supplements Prevention Harm
why

Heterogeneity was extreme (I-squared 97%), so the pooled figure hides large differences between the 10 studies.

 Dementia meta-analysis 867,316 Pooled RR 1.44 (95% CI 1.09-1.90) for high vs low ultra-processed food intake Journal of Neurology 2024
✓ Peer-reviewed PMID 37831127
Ultra-processed food Diet and supplements Prevention Harm Rate of global cognitive decline over a median 8 years cohort study 10,775 28% faster global cognitive decline above the lowest quartile (beta -0.004; 95% CI -0.006 to -0.001) JAMA Neurology 2023
✓ Peer-reviewed PMID 36469335
Ultra-processed food Diet and supplements Prevention Harm
why

518 cases. Replacing 10% of ultra-processed food with minimally processed food was associated with 19% lower risk.

 Incident dementia over a median 10 years cohort study 72,083 HR 1.25 per 10% increase in ultra-processed food share (95% CI 1.14-1.37) Neurology 2022
✓ Peer-reviewed PMID 36219796

How this table was built, and where it is weak →