Researchers of a pooled longitudinal analysis of 42,853 Parkinson’s disease (PD)-free participants from the Nurses’ Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (diet assessed 1984-2006) found that higher intake of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) was associated with greater odds of nonmotor prodromal PD features—such as constipation, probable REM sleep behavior disorder, and excessive daytime sleepiness. Using multinomial logistic regression across cumulative UPF quintiles, the adjusted odds of having at least 3 prodromal features versus none was 2.23 (95% CI, 1.61–3.20), with additional elevations for having one feature (OR 1.57, 95% CI 1.25–1.97). Risk also appeared to rise across successive dietary assessment waves, with sauces/spreads/condiments, packaged snacks/desserts, and sweetened beverages particularly implicated.
Authors emphasize that findings link dietary processing level—not just nutrients—to neurodegenerative risk signals. They also noted limitations including self-reported diet/Nova classification, residual confounding, focus on prodromal markers rather than diagnoses, and a largely White health-professional cohort. Overall, results provide initial epidemiologic evidence that higher UPF consumption correlates with a heavier burden of prodromal PD features and motivate trials to test whether reducing UPFs can modify risk trajectories.
Reference: Meglio M. Ultraprocessed Food Consumption Linked to Nonmotor Prodromal Features of Parkinson Disease. NeurologyLive. Published July 16, 2025. Accessed October 24, 2025. https://www.neurologylive.com/view/ultraprocessed-food-consumption-linked-nonmotor-prodromal-features-parkinsons
