Home › Research › Long-term cohort studies
Glycemic index, glycemic load, and risk of dementia: a prospective analysis within the UK Biobank cohort
Nil Novau-Ferré, Javier Mateu-Fabregat, Christos K. Papagiannopoulos, Christos V. Chalitsios, Laura Panisello, Georgios Markozannes, Konstantinos K. Tsilidis, Mònica Bulló et al.. International Journal of Epidemiology, 2025-10-13
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Dementia incidence was 0.89 per 1000 person-years. GI (mean±SD: 48.71 ± 7.68) showed an inverse J-shaped association with dementia risk, while GL (121.49 ± 39.00) showed a J-shaped pattern, with inflection points at 49.30 and 111.01, respectively. After adjusting for potential confounders, GI values of 111.01 were associated with higher dementia risk (HR, 1.145; 95% CI, 1.048-1.251). Similar findings were observed for AD and VD. Low-GI diets may offer protective effects against all-cause dementia, AD, and VD, whereas high-GL diets may increase the risk. These findings underscore the importance of considering both carbohydrate quality and quantity in dementia prevention and management strategies.
Key findings
- Dementia incidence was 0.89 per 1000 person-years.
- GI (mean±SD: 48.71 ± 7.68) showed an inverse J-shaped association with dementia risk, while GL (121.49 ± 39.00) showed a J-shaped pattern, with inflection points at 49.30 and 111.01, respectively.
- After adjusting for potential confounders, GI values of 111.01 were associated with higher dementia risk (HR, 1.145; 95% CI, 1.048-1.251).
- Similar findings were observed for AD and VD.
- Low-GI diets may offer protective effects against all-cause dementia, AD, and VD, whereas high-GL diets may increase the risk.
Why it matters
This study found that glycemic index showed an inverse J-shaped association with dementia risk and glycemic load showed a J-shaped pattern, with low-GI diets possibly protective and high-GL diets possibly increasing risk. It suggests that considering both carbohydrate quality and quantity may be important in dementia prevention, but it does not show that changing diet prevents dementia.
Study details
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 38/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (International Journal of Epidemiology) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | International Journal of Epidemiology: journal h-index 328 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 4 / 5 | 2025 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 1 / 7 | Cited 2 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 0 / 5 | 0.7 citations a year over 3 year(s) since 2025 |
| Impact for its field and year | 2 / 6 | Cited 1.3× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 0 / 4 | Cited 2 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Christopher Papandreou: h-index 33 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | Imperial College London: institution h-index 1,744 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 7 institution(s) in 3 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 41177554) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 38 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
May need a subscription OpenAlex found no free copy of the full text (checked 6 Feb 1020), so the publisher may charge for it. The PubMed abstract is free.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Novau-Ferré, N., Mateu-Fabregat, J., Papagiannopoulos, C. K., Chalitsios, C. V., Panisello, L., Markozannes, G., et al. (2025). Glycemic index, glycemic load, and risk of dementia: a prospective analysis within the UK Biobank cohort. International Journal of Epidemiology. https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyaf182
Vancouver
Novau-Ferré N, Mateu-Fabregat J, Papagiannopoulos CK, Chalitsios CV, Panisello L, Markozannes G, et al. Glycemic index, glycemic load, and risk of dementia: a prospective analysis within the UK Biobank cohort. International Journal of Epidemiology. 2025. doi:10.1093/ije/dyaf182. PMID: 41177554.
BibTeX
@article{novauferre2025-41177554,
author = {Novau-Ferré, Nil and Mateu-Fabregat, Javier and Papagiannopoulos, Christos K. and Chalitsios, Christos V. and Panisello, Laura and Markozannes, Georgios and Tsilidis, Konstantinos K. and Bulló, Mònica and others},
title = {{Glycemic index, glycemic load, and risk of dementia: a prospective analysis within the UK Biobank cohort}},
journal = {International Journal of Epidemiology},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1093/ije/dyaf182},
pmid = {41177554},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyaf182}
}
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here.
Related studies in Long-term cohort studies
Also tagged “biobank”
1,084 studies in the library carry the topic tag “biobank”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 1,084 tagged studies.